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Old 11-07-2011, 09:06 AM
 
Location: Houston, Texas
443 posts, read 1,345,796 times
Reputation: 591

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I live close to the West Houston airport and a friend and I were discussing if commercial flights will ever be available from it. Seems to be a perfect location for Houston business travelers...you land in the heart of the Energy Corridor with great access to Westchase, Galleria and only 20 min to downtown...much more convenient than IAH and Hobby.

Obviously IAH and Hobby have existing infrastructure, IAH is a major hub and expansion plans are in place for both airports but I just wonder if a more regional carrier (intra-Texas or regional flights maybe) could make a go at the WH airport. The runway is almost 4000ft long...plenty long enough for any prop plane and small jet...they'd need to expand for 737 service though. There is plenty of room for expansion though.

Thoughts?
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Old 11-07-2011, 09:30 AM
 
122 posts, read 477,117 times
Reputation: 70
Quote:
Originally Posted by irishlover View Post
I live close to the West Houston airport and a friend and I were discussing if commercial flights will ever be available from it. Seems to be a perfect location for Houston business travelers...you land in the heart of the Energy Corridor with great access to Westchase, Galleria and only 20 min to downtown...much more convenient than IAH and Hobby.

Obviously IAH and Hobby have existing infrastructure, IAH is a major hub and expansion plans are in place for both airports but I just wonder if a more regional carrier (intra-Texas or regional flights maybe) could make a go at the WH airport. The runway is almost 4000ft long...plenty long enough for any prop plane and small jet...they'd need to expand for 737 service though. There is plenty of room for expansion though.

Thoughts?
I doubt they would get any commercial service. If any airport on the west side (and I doubt any will) get commercial service, I would think it would be the Sugar Land airport. They had commercial service there back in the 90s. The runway is longer that West Houston, they are already the third busiest airport (after IAH and HOU), and they have a new terminal. There's a lot of corporate jets going in and out of there, so some type of regional jet is no problem. Having said all that, I don't see either airport getting commercial service anytime soon.
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Old 11-07-2011, 10:05 AM
 
59 posts, read 301,927 times
Reputation: 53
Quote:
Originally Posted by irishlover View Post
I live close to the West Houston airport and a friend and I were discussing if commercial flights will ever be available from it. Seems to be a perfect location for Houston business travelers...you land in the heart of the Energy Corridor with great access to Westchase, Galleria and only 20 min to downtown...much more convenient than IAH and Hobby.

Obviously IAH and Hobby have existing infrastructure, IAH is a major hub and expansion plans are in place for both airports but I just wonder if a more regional carrier (intra-Texas or regional flights maybe) could make a go at the WH airport. The runway is almost 4000ft long...plenty long enough for any prop plane and small jet...they'd need to expand for 737 service though. There is plenty of room for expansion though.

Thoughts?
The only feasible airports would be Sugar Land and the relatively new Waller County airport. However, even all the business on the west side would not justify the costs of opening and running a station at these airports, which are substantial.

West Houston will never see commercial service because the runway too short and narrow, and no instrument landing system (allows planes to land in foggy weather). 4000' is long for small props, but for turboprops and jets that is short.

Basically, there is too much infrastructure already close by in IAH and Hobby to justify another station. Airlines would rather focus on seeking underserved markets that have little or no existing service.
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Old 11-07-2011, 11:00 AM
 
1 posts, read 3,176 times
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Both West Houston Airport and Sugar Land had commercial flights prior to the Beltway 8 being constructed. I don't think either airport will have an airline operate out of it, unless the rules change regarding FAA's approval of airports and of airlines. There are too many hurdles and too much infrastructure to build to accomodate mostly a non-profitable operation. Both Hobby and IAH are too close to it's citizens and the airlines themselves don't want to invest in new stations unless there is a market that is not already served.
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Old 11-07-2011, 11:15 AM
 
Location: Pearland, TX
3,333 posts, read 9,170,918 times
Reputation: 2341
Not unless they lengthen the runway.

Ronnie
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Old 11-07-2011, 11:33 AM
 
4,875 posts, read 10,067,064 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Woody Lesikar View Post
Both West Houston Airport and Sugar Land had commercial flights prior to the Beltway 8 being constructed. I don't think either airport will have an airline operate out of it, unless the rules change regarding FAA's approval of airports and of airlines. There are too many hurdles and too much infrastructure to build to accomodate mostly a non-profitable operation. Both Hobby and IAH are too close to it's citizens and the airlines themselves don't want to invest in new stations unless there is a market that is not already served.
Wait, when did West Houston have commercial? Who operated it?
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Old 11-07-2011, 12:59 PM
 
Location: Up on the moon laughing down on you
18,495 posts, read 32,929,248 times
Reputation: 7752
Quote:
Originally Posted by hou-iah View Post
Basically, there is too much infrastructure already close by in IAH and Hobby to justify another station. Airlines would rather focus on seeking underserved markets that have little or no existing service.
I agree. And with Ellington serving as an over flow I don't see the Houston area being served by 3 commercial airports anytime soon. I mean most cities get one major and one tiny airport. Houston already has a major and a medium sized commercial airport.

Hobby sees more action than the airport in Austin and SA.

And Ellington field gets more commercial action than some other cities in Texas.

Airport..........Emplanements in 2010:

IAH- ..............20M
Hobby..............4.5M
Brazoria County..4500
Ellington Field.... 1200
Galveston...........2
West H...............1
Houston SW ........6
Houston Lone Star.9
Pearland ..............2
Sugarland.............189
Tomball.................53

Near Houston:
Beaumont...............17,400
College Station........72,200
Victoria....................5000

In comparison to Hobby:
SA.............................3.9M
Austin.........................4.2M


Houston has the second and third busiest airports in the state.
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Old 11-07-2011, 01:30 PM
 
Location: Houston, Texas
443 posts, read 1,345,796 times
Reputation: 591
Quote:
Originally Posted by HtownLove View Post
I agree. And with Ellington serving as an over flow I don't see the Houston area being served by 3 commercial airports anytime soon. I mean most cities get one major and one tiny airport. Houston already has a major and a medium sized commercial airport.

Hobby sees more action than the airport in Austin and SA.

And Ellington field gets more commercial action than some other cities in Texas.

Airport..........Emplanements in 2010:

IAH- ..............20M
Hobby..............4.5M
Brazoria County..4500
Ellington Field.... 1200
Galveston...........2
West H...............1
Houston SW ........6
Houston Lone Star.9
Pearland ..............2
Sugarland.............189
Tomball.................53

Near Houston:
Beaumont...............17,400
College Station........72,200
Victoria....................5000

In comparison to Hobby:
SA.............................3.9M
Austin.........................4.2M


Houston has the second and third busiest airports in the state.
I agree. I just wonder if a startup carrier (small) could compete with Continental and SW by offering flights to Houston's main TX business hubs from West Houston...basically pandering to the Energy folks...like nonstop to Dallas, OKC, San Antonio, El Paso, OKC, Laredo, New Orleans etc.

Also, I can't tell you how full the planes would be if a small carrier could figure out how to shuttle business folks in and out of the Eagle Ford Shale area (laredo to columbus area) without having to mess with IAH or Hobby. The Eagle Ford Shale is the biggest oil play in North America right now (240+ active drilling rigs) and there is NO service in the heart of the play. I guess those rich companies just hire a private shuttle when the need to
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Old 11-07-2011, 01:38 PM
 
Location: Up on the moon laughing down on you
18,495 posts, read 32,929,248 times
Reputation: 7752
Quote:
Originally Posted by irishlover View Post

Also, I can't tell you how full the planes would be if a small carrier could figure out how to shuttle business folks in and out of the Eagle Ford Shale area (laredo to columbus area) without having to mess with IAH or Hobby. The Eagle Ford Shale is the biggest oil play in North America right now (240+ active drilling rigs) and there is NO service in the heart of the play. I guess those rich companies just hire a private shuttle when the need to
you might be onto something there
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Old 11-07-2011, 02:19 PM
 
2,277 posts, read 3,959,166 times
Reputation: 1920
Heard of the TSA? Yeah, that kills the possibility of new commercial airports. Private company flights, sure (if any company wants to incur that expense). Commercial, not a chance.
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