Houston’s central location in the US means it’s the perfect place for major airlines to establish a hub. For George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), our minds fly immediately to United Airlines, for example. And while Southwest Airlines recently made headlines for its exit from IAH, the Dallas-based carrier was always all about William P. Hobby Airport anyway.

To put this into perspective, looking at this coming summer schedule, including June and July, Hobby’s peaks are at 174 departures on Sundays, while IAH’s summer peaks sit at 14 departures. And in light of the Bush exit news, company officials say the airline remains committed to Hobby—it even has big plans for an expansion.

Southwest’s loyalty to Hobby and the Houston Airport System (HAS) can be traced back to the year the airline began air travel in 1971. On June 18 of that year, its first day as an airline, IAH was the only Houston airport with Southwest’s services, but come November, the airline entered Hobby. After that, Southwest played a long game of will-they-won’t-they with IAH. The airline ended service at IAH in 1972, then came back in 1980, remaining there for 25 years, until 2005. When the COVID-19 pandemic was in its peak, Southwest saw a 95 percent reduction in traffic, prompting the company to find new revenue sources. The airline began service in 18 markets, including IAH, whose official return started in April 2021.

But now, this coming August, IAH will once again say goodbye to Southwest’s services, along with three other airports. Steve Sisneros, vice president of airport affairs with Southwest Airlines, says the decision to stop flying out of IAH was a tough one, fueled by financial impacts in its first quarter. Southwest needs to retire older planes, but fleet challenges with Boeing have resulted in uncertain aircraft deliveries. Now, the issue is that the airline won’t be able to get new ones fast enough. Boeing is currently experiencing major supply chain issues, alongside quality issues that have been the root behind recent incidents—most infamously, an exit door blowing off during an Alaska Airlines flight in January.

Southwest Airlines lost $231 million, or 39 cents a share, in the first quarter of 2024, whereas in last year’s first quarter, the airline suffered a loss of $159 million, or 27 cents a share—fresh off the holiday fiasco of December 2022 that resulted in 16,900 canceled flights for which Southwest paid a $140 million civil penalty. The airports Southwest is now choosing to leave are ones it considers “underperforming markets,” according to a release.

“We don’t like making these decisions,” Sisneros says. “We rarely exit markets, so this was a difficult thing to do, but for Houston and its community, our commitment at Hobby remains the same.”

Sisneros says Southwest is not looking to furlough or lay off any Houston employees; instead, next steps include finding new jobs for them, whether that be at Hobby or a relocation to another airport.

Throughout the back-and-forth with IAH over the years, Hobby has become what Southwest calls a “cornerstone market.” Southwest doesn’t have hubs since it operates as a point-to-point network, as opposed to hub-and-spoke like other major carriers. However, the airline does have “mega” stations, which Hobby falls under due to the large operation there. Hobby serves as a base for Southwest’s flight crews and is also an international gateway. The airline is typically responsible for more than 90 percent of the traffic through Hobby. Sisneros says the loyalty to Hobby is due to the airline’s history of working with smaller airports that are close to metropolitan areas—Hobby is less than 10 miles south of downtown.

And despite the financial impacts of its first quarter and the decision to exit airports, Southwest Airlines is still moving forward with big plans for Houston travelers. On May 31, the airline will hold a groundbreaking event for its $470 million project on Hobby’s new West Concourse. Last spring, Southwest presented the project to Houston City Council’s economic development committee, and in August 2023, the company officially got the needed funds to move forward after approval from city council.

“The investments continue for Houston,” Sisneros says. “The future is bright for Houston.”

The project consists of two main pieces: a new outbound baggage handling system and baggage claim area, along with a seven-gate expansion. Sisneros notes that of those seven gates, six will be for Southwest and one will be a common-use gate. The gates will primarily be domestic but will allow for international capacity. According to Jim Szczesniak, director of aviation for Houston Airports, the common-use gate is a “strategic move” that will help ensure flexibility and growth as Hobby experiences increased passenger traffic. It will also allow existing partners—such as the six other airlines that operate out of Hobby—to have more flexibility in scheduling and assigning gates.

With Southwest’s “two bags fly free” policy, Sisneros says the new system will help with the airline’s efficiency. In 2023, Southwest carried more than 137 million customers with an average of around 12 million checked bags per month. This large volume can have a serious impact on bag systems across airports. The airline will add capacity in its delivery system to avoid this potential issue. For Hobby, the new baggage handling system will be a two-story building with screening and support spaces that will help with future growth of the gates and increased demand.

Travelers flying out of Hobby will also find an upgraded baggage claim area. In a past meeting, airline officials said the dimly lit space will be reimagined into a bright, inviting, and larger facility for passengers. An overhead canopy will be built along the departures curb, adding a connection to the Red Garage.

Hobby Airport and Southwest travelers will be able to take advantage of this expansion in 2026, when the project is scheduled to be completed.

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