Southwest Planning International Flights from HOU, United Opposing

[B757300]

A proposal by Southwest Airlines to offer international flights from Hobby Airport has triggered an intense lobbying duel with United Airlines, which still wields considerable local clout as the successor to Houston-based Continental.

If it gets city approval, Southwest says it would spend an estimated $75 million to $100 million to build a new international terminal equipped with full-scale Customs facilities, as well as to improve the aging airport's domestic terminals. Southwest flights would depart from the new terminal to destinations such as Cancun and the Caribbean.

But United has already broken ground on what may become another international terminal, a $700 million investment piled on top of an additional billion it has pumped into Bush Intercontinental Airport since the late 1990s.

United says this town isn't big enough for both projects.

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/War-between-United-Southwest-looms-over-Houston-3414923.php

[Foxtrot]

This has actually been reported before, last year I think. No surprise that UA is not liking this one bit.

And what's the deal with "another international terminal" at IAH? UA broke ground on the Terminal B expansion, not an international terminal, at least from what I know.

[Felipe Garcia]

B is not fully international. All ExpressJet flights depart from there (including flights to Mexico), but all inbound international ExpressJet flights arrive at terminal D, which is connected to the FIS building.