Houston’s airports are the talk of several national media publications wanting to know how both George Bush Intercontinental (IAH) and William P. Hobby (HOU) airports managed to avoid some of the pitfalls of this summer’s intense travel season. According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), through the month of September 2007, Bush is rated the number one airport in the nation for on time performance. These recurring excellent marks continue even as IAH, who has become a regular on the DOT’s monthly reports, handles more passengers each year. Last year, more than 51 million travelers passed through Houston’s airports - a significant feat that continues to grab headlines across the nation. Publications like The Wall Street Journal and The Christian Science Monitor are only a few of the latest print media who have focused on the Houston aviation market. The Wall Street Journal wanted to know how IAH is bucking the trend and holding the line when it comes to on-time performance. The Christian Science Monitor wanted to know more about the growing number of air cargo exports from Bush Intercontinental. Rick Vacar, director of the Houston Airport System, offers some insight. “I explained to them that there are several reasons behind our ranking. IAH is one of the few airports in the nation primed for significant growth. Our 10,000 plus acre complex means we have room to grow. We have been anticipating the needs of our growing passenger base and that led to construction of a fifth runway at Bush,” he explains.

© Houston Airport System Media Buzz. Rick Vacar and Mary Case talk media popularity involving Houston's two main airports - Bush and Hobby.

“We are also expanding our market appeal and outreach. IAH offers more non-stop flights to destinations in Mexico than any other airport in the country,” Vacar continues. “We expanded our cargo handling capacity to accommodate increases in airfreight traffic, which we expect to be up by at least 8 percent by the end of the year.”

It’s not only the air cargo industry that has captured headlines, however.

Having the largest Federal Inspection Services facility (FIS) in the country, and having it designated as the first Model Port in the nation by the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State has also been somewhat of an attention getter for IAH. The FIS can process up to 4,500 arriving international passengers per hour, when fully staffed, and was chosen as the nation’s first Model Port in April of this year.

Not to be outdone, Hobby - Houston’s second largest airport - ranked number one in the nation for customer satisfaction, two years in a row now, according to J.D. Power and Associates. The airport, which was ranked in the category of smaller airports – those serving less than 10 million passengers annually, graced headlines in the Houston Chronicle and the Dallas Morning News, among other publications, as a result of this accolade.

It was the newspaper USA Today, nonetheless, which wondered most recently what Hobby was doing to inspire such respect among travelers.

Mary Case, airport manager, had this to offer:

“The airport managed to retain its reputation for good customer service even in the midst of an extensive three year, $250 million building project that included the construction of a new 25 gate Central Concourse, new baggage carousels, the demolition of two concourses and a host of other improvements,” she explains. “We made customer service a priority. We listened to what the customers said they wanted, like better signage, more restaurants and shops. We asked our employees to go above and beyond when it comes to customer service, they responded and so did our passengers.”

The U.S. Department of Transportation estimates more than one billion passengers will travel on U.S. air carriers by 2012, up from the 680 million passengers this year.

The Houston Airport System, meanwhile, is expected to handle more than 80 million passengers annually by the year 2020. Extensive construction, including a sixth runway and terminal expansion are planned during the next decade as part of the Houston Airport System’s “Destination 2020 Master Plan.”

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