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.

Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 landing at LAX shutterstock_1028855347

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
Southwest Airlines BHM shutterstock_1271726500

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

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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.

Many Delta Air Lines Boeing 737s Parked side by side.

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.

American Eagle (Envoy Air) Embraer E175 N258NN taking off from Austin-Bergstrom International 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.

United Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 landing shutterstock_2469495333

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.

Spirit Airlines Airbus A320neo landing

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.

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