This week marked the return of Southwest Airlines to Bush Intercontinental Airport after a 16-year hiatus.
The airline’s Bush offerings never matched its Hobby Airport hub. But with 30 miles between the two Houston airports the fact that Bush airport offered any Southwest flights at all, at least until 2005, was always welcomed by those living in more northern Houston suburbs.
“They’re wanting to reach more people in the northern suburbs who would otherwise have to drive,” said Jay Jordan, a reporter for the Houston Chronicle. “There’s maybe an hour or so with traffic between Bush and Hobby, and now they’re able to reach those customers who don’t have to drive as far to get down all the way to the southeast side of Houston.”
There won’t be a lot of Southwest Airlines flights out of Bush, but for Houston passengers traveling to these five cities – Nashville, Dallas, Chicago, New Orleans and Denver – they now have more options.