Summary
- Southwest Airlines leads with the most seats offered in 2024 but third in total flights.
- Delta Air Lines is second in total seats, heavily reliant on the Atlanta route.
- American Airlines tops total flight numbers at BHM, mainly due to smaller American Eagle flights.
Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International is the largest airport in the US state of Alabama. It has a history of almost 100 years, with plenty of airlines serving it over the years. Delta Air Service (later becoming Delta Air Lines) was the first major airline to serve it, from 1929 – with the airport only formally opening in 1931.
However, it is far from being one of the busiest in the country. In 2023, it ranked 84th out of all US airports (this is based on FAA data for the whole year). There were just under 1.5 million enplanements that year – far behind the largest airports of Atlanta with almost 51 million, or Dallas Fort Worth with over 39 million.
Activity at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth is concentrated with four main airlines – Southwest Airlines plus the three legacy airlines of Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, and United Airlines. Spirit Airlines just started service in 2024.
We look here at the biggest operators, by number of flights and total available seat miles (ASMs) for the whole of 2024. Data is from Cirium, an aviation analytics company.
1
Southwest Airlines
Busiest for seats and ASMs but not total flights
|
Southwest Airlines |
|
|---|---|
|
Number of flights (2024) |
8,601 |
|
Total Seats |
1,341,143 |
|
Total ASMs |
929,756,625 |
Southwest Airlines is by far the dominant operator at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International by seats offered. In 2024, the carrier offers over 1.3 million seats on services to and from the airport.
These are generally on longer routes and larger aircraft compared to some of the legacy carrier operations. This is why the airline is far behind (in third place) for the total number of flights but far ahead of ASMs.
Photo: Angel DiBilio | Shutterstock
Its main routes from the airport include:
- Dallas Love Field (DAL) – offering 146,301 seats in 2024
- Orlando International Airport (MCO) – 115.016 seats
- Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) – 92,115
- William P. Hobby Airport, Houston (HOU) – 72,360
- Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) – 69,628
Photo: Bob Pool | Shutterstock
Recent additions from Southwest include Birmingham to Phoenix. This was originally scheduled to be introduced in November 2024 but has been brought forward to October. Cirium shows 7,551 seats for 2024.
Related
Southwest Airlines Planning To Introduce Flights Between Phoenix & Birmingham 1 Month Earlier Than Expected
The carrier plans to operate the route “to test how the market responds.”
2
Delta Air Lines
Second for total seats, but far behind for ASMs
|
Delta Air Lines |
|
|---|---|
|
Number of flights (2024) |
8,785 |
|
Total Seats |
1,199,859 |
|
Total ASMs |
298,519,341 |
Delta Air Lines has a proud history of being the first major airline to service Alabama and Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International. Its flights began as early as 1929 – its first route being to Dallas Love Field.
Today, the airline is the most dominant of the three legacy carriers by total seats. This is due largely to its heavily trafficked route between Birmingham and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL). This is a very short route of only 134 miles, but it provides important feeds and connections for the airline. It generally operates eight or nine flights a day, with almost 494,000 seats available in 2024.
Photo: David Peterlin | Shutterstock
Other main routes operated by Delta have much fewer seats. These include:
- New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA): 68,784 seats
- Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW): 36,730 seats
3
American Airlines
Operating the most flights from BHM by far
|
American Airlines |
|
|---|---|
|
Number of flights (2024) |
15,011 |
|
Total Seats |
1,144,030 |
|
Total ASMs |
627,827,167 |
American Airlines was the second airline to start serving Birmingham, just a couple of years behind in 1931. Today, it is the third-placed airline in terms of total seats but is far ahead of the total number of flights planned in 2024.
This anomaly is simply due to the nature of operations by the airline. There are large numbers of flights with smaller American Eagle operated flights from the airport.
Photo: lorenzatx | Shutterstock
The top routes from American Airlines include:
- Dallas Fort Worth (DFW): 194,524 seats – the second-placed route by seats
- Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT): 179,101 seats – the third-placed route by seats
- Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA): 69,628 seats
4
United Airlines
The fewest seats and flights of the legacy carriers
|
United Airlines |
|
|---|---|
|
Number of flights (2024) |
6,131 |
|
Total Seats |
400,544 |
|
Total ASMs |
283,237,621 |
United Airlines comes in behind the other major operators at the airport. It has just 6,131 flights in 2024 – compared with over 8,000 for Southwest and Delta, and over 15,000 for American.
Photo: Angel DiBilio | Shutterstock
This lower presence is reflected in its route numbers. Its main routes include:
- George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Houston (IAH): 102,415 seats
- Denver International Airport (DEN): 53,612 seats
- Chicago (ORD): 44,102 seats
5
Spirit Airlines
A new starter in 2024 – with just one route and 166 planned flights
|
Spirit Airlines |
|
|---|---|
|
Number of flights (2024) |
166 |
|
Total Seats |
30,212 |
|
Total ASMs |
19,637,800 |
Fifth place, but far behind, is low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines. The airline is a new entrant to the airport in 2024. In some ways, it replaces low-cost carrier Frontier which pulled out of the airport in 2019.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying
So far, Spirit has just the one route – planned to begin in October 2024. This is to Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport (FLL). This offers direct flight options to Florida, of course, but also onward connections to the Caribbean and Latin America.
Related
Daily Flights: What To Expect From Spirit’s New Service To Alabama
It will be the airline’s first route serving the state of Alabama.