Bush, Hobby set record traffic
Airports’ rise in traffic follows modest decline
Bush Intercontinental and Hobby airports saw a record 58.3 million travelers in 2018, the first uptick in traffic since the oil-price slump and Hurricane Harvey caused two years of modest declines.
Bush Intercontinental and Hobby airports saw a record 58.3 million travelers in 2018, the first uptick in traffic since the oil-price slump and Hurricane Harvey caused two years of modest declines.
Shaking off the effects of those setbacks, and buoyed by a strong national economy and the addition of routes and flights by major airlines serving Houston, combined passenger traffic at the airports was up 7.6 percent from 2017 levels. The trend has airport officials and analysts optimistic for 2019.
“We anticipate this growth to continue,” said Ian Wadsworth, chief commercial officer for the Houston Airport System, which manages both airports as well as Ellington Airport/Houston Spaceport.
Hobby had 14.5 million travelers in 2018, up 7.7 percent from the previous year, with international travelers surpassing the 1 million mark for the first time since international flights returned to the airport in 2015.
Bush Intercontinental saw 43.8 million passengers in 2018, up 7.5 percent from 2017.
The Houston Airport System’s previous record came in 2015 with 55.2 million people. Both 2016 and 2017 were in the 54 million range, at 54.6 million and 54.2 million, respectively.
“Air travel overall has been growing, but the fact that Houston is seeing a record number of travelers shows that the airlines serving Houston, led by Southwest and United, are continuing to provide very good value,” said Henry Harteveldt, founder of travel research company Atmosphere Research Group.
That value comes in competitive airfare priced within people’s budgets, he said. And more stable oil prices have led to a rebound in business travel.
The average domestic one-way fare at Bush Intercontinental and Hobby was $180 in the second quarter of 2018, the most recent data available, down 15 percent from $213 in the second quarter of 2014. That excludes taxes and fees, and it isn’t adjusted for inflation.
Nationwide, the average oneway domestic fare dropped 13 percent to $169 during that same period, said John Heimlich, vice president and chief economist at industry trade group Airlines for America.
Based on the first 10 months of data released by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Airlines for America estimated that close to 900 million people traveled around the world on U.S. airlines in 2018 – which he said would also be a record.
Heimlich attributed such growth to increases in household income, low unemployment and airlines investing in both airports and planes. Lower ticket prices, stemming in part from lower jet fuel prices, also helped.
At Bush Intercontinental and Hobby, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines have funneled more people through Houston by adding destinations and flights, Harteveldt said. Both of these airlines are expected to continue their national growth and expansion this year.
“Houston has good potential to attract more new flights from these airlines,” Harteveldt said.
Money collected from these additional passengers will be used to improve terminals, Wadsworth said, including a $1.23 billion project to redevelop the international terminal at Bush Intercontinental.
The money could also help renovate Terminal A at Bush Intercontinental, including electrical systems, HVAC and the baggagehandling system. The renovation could include additional gates, too, Wadsworth said. A timeline is not yet available for when the effort could begin.
“People do have a choice in airports,” he said, “and over the past few years we have been making improvements to make the travel experience much better in Houston.”