Does anyone have any insight on if IAH will ever get any widebody growth? It seems like the IAH is the red headed step child of the larger bases.

 

the problem with IAH is that it over flys Chicago Newark and Dulles and in some aspects SFO which are all stronger international bases.

it’s to far south for anyone to realistically connect at except for central and South America. So IAH has to stand on its own for any new markets.

 

It's not gonna happen in any major way. We may see some targeted adds that take advantage of premium demand, especially in the summer (FCO and CDG come to mind), but as said above, IAH just doesn't make a whole lot of sense when it has to overfly much more prolific hubs and doesn't have much in the way of connecting traffic (except from Latin America, and even then, many of those locations also have service to EWR, IAD, and/or ORD).

I wish it would, but I'll believe it when I see it.

 

If you want good WB flying, you gotta bid to the coastal WB bases…. IAH is best served as a Latin America hub with service to oil businessmen need to go….

 

When I think widebodies/International at IAH… I just think of the lighted G7 spikes. I mean for many people “the world” is basically a codeword for the countries represented on those sculptures. So it’s already a global mega hub right?

Houston obviously doesn’t have the “international” diasporic communities that exist in say IAD, EWR, SFO,LAX but it sure does have industrial and commercial connections globally…….and a lot more of that than say Denver …which seems to get new international markets….not to mention 3 and a half hours up I-45……Wetin Dey happen? Amellykin have many many big plane dat go all over de wurl.

So your stepchild characterization in my view is not as strange as some would make you think. Thats not to say I forecast any change though.

 

The contrast between DFW and IAH is interesting. Both big texas markets. Both near-fortress hubs with SW monopolizing a secondary airport. Honestly, not really sure why DFW has so much more intl presence than IAH.

 

I believe, once terminal B addition/remodel is completed; we will have at least 12 wide body gates in IAH. I can see one or two more major European cities added for Summer 2027 (CDG needs to come back for sure) as well as continued up gauging to S America (777B replacing 767 to GIG and SCL etc). Wide body domestic departures from IAH timed for trans Pacific connectivity at SFO and trans Atlantic connectivity at both EWR and more so IAD(IAD to double daily departures and become our trans Atlantic preferred hub for connecting traffic over next 5 years) are important. IAH, while not necessarily having the flashy international destinations on the departure boards; will continue to grow in Central America with added destinations and frequency over the next few years as well as added domestic frequency which will include smaller spikes in Texas and the Southeastern states. I see regional service to places we left in the last decade returning. That’s my take.

 

Keep in mind, AA has to use DFW as their main international hub going all directions…. They don’t have a SFO hub like we do for a major trans-pac hub (LAX will not be that for AA due to the amount of competition with UA, DL, and other trans-pac carriers)…. AA ORD international isn’t huge….. AA doesn’t have a large feed for trans-Atlantic flights into JFK…. AA CLT hub isn’t a big trans-Atlantic hub, PHL isn’t what it used to be since they parked the 75/76s and the A330s. PHX isn’t an international hub….

We have a big trans-Pac hub in SFO and LAX to supplement it (LAX has a ton of competition). These hubs capture feed for trans-pac flights for a good portion of the country….

We have EWR, IAD, ORD to capture feed for trans-Atlantic flights for a good portion of the country….

Naturally speaking, IAH isn’t going to benefit to serve feed for trans-pac or trans-Atlantic flights. IAH trans-Atlantic and trans-pac flying will need to rely on O/D traffic. Outside of token destinations like Tokyo, London, Munich, Frankfurt, or other destinations where the oil companies need to send their employees, I don’t see too much getting added.

DEN is going to be dealing with the same thing…..

 

Right I think it’s just that SFO for numerous reasons is just much more conducive to our Widebody international network. Just pointing out to those who won’t waste any opportunity to bash Texas with thier condescending classist attitudes……..claiming witless that “Ugh-stun” is no place for the international scene.

We USED to have EWR Trans Pacific……but of course politics…or rather geo politics……….but I find it interesting that the elimination of such a cash cow and generator of seniority for both inflight and flight has largely just been normalized and treated with apathy.

 

im not sure anyone has bashed Texas except for you……