William P. Hobby Airport is a public airport located 8 miles (13 km) southeast of the central business district of Houston, Texas, United States. The airport covers 1,304 acres (5.3 km²) and has four runways. Hobby Airport is Houston's oldest commercial airport and was the city's primary air terminal until the opening of Houston Intercontinental Airport (now George Bush Intercontinental Airport) in 1969. Hobby serves the city as a secondary airport handling domestic service and is a regional center for corporate and private aviation. The airport is home of the 1940 Air Terminal Museum which houses a collection in the original art deco building which served as the first terminal for passenger flight in Houston.

History

Hobby Airport began service in 1927 as a private landing field in a 600 acre (2.4 km²) pasture known as W.T. Carter Field. The airfield was served by Braniff and Eastern Airlines. The site was acquired by the City of Houston and was named Houston Municipal Airport in 1937. The airport was renamed Howard R. Hughes Airport in 1938. Howard Hughes was responsible for several improvements to the airport, including its first control tower, built in 1938.The airport's name was changed back to Houston Municipal because Hughes was living at the time and regulations did not allow federal improvement funds for an airport named after a living person.

The City of Houston opened and dedicated a new air terminal and hangar in 1940.

In 1950, Pan Am initiated a Houston-Mexico City flight. In 1954, a new and expanded terminal building was opened to support the 53,640 airline flights that carried 910,047 passengers. The airport was renamed to Houston International Airport the same year.

In 1957, the first scheduled turbojet aircraft were utilized in service to the airport. KLM started Amsterdam operations in 1957. KLM later moved to Houston Intercontinental Airport (now George Bush Intercontinental Airport), where it remains today.

In 1967, the airport was renamed after former Texas governor William P. Hobby.

Houston Intercontinental Airport (now George Bush Intercontinental Airport) was built in 1969 because of expansion limitations at Hobby. All commercial aviation operations at Hobby were moved to Houston Intercontinental. The Civil Aeronautics Administration recommended years earlier that Houston begin to plan to replace Hobby, since the airport was inadequate for the new aviation travel market.

Hobby was reopened to commercial aviation in 1971. In 2008 the airport handled 8.8 million passengers[33723]. Only US destinations and international destinations with border preclearance are served.

Operations

Hobby Airport handles domestic service for seven commercial airlines and is an international point of entry for general aviation activity between Texas and Mexico. The airport is capable of handling all but the largest narrow-body aircraft in operation. Hobby has multiple low cost carrier operations, as opposed to Bush Intercontinental Airport's hub operation with Continental Airlines.

In a survey among travelers in the United States by J.D. Power and Associates for an Aviation Week traveler satisfaction report, passengers have selected William P. Hobby Airport as the number one airport in the country for customer satisfaction in 2006 and again in 2007. Hobby ranked #2 in 2008.

Southwest Airlines operated more than 80 percent of the total enplanements at Hobby in 2005 and an average of 10 flights per day per gate. Southwest Airlines plans to maintain Houston as a focus city and is looking to serve new markets from Hobby.

Developments at Hobby in the 2000s include a new concourse to serve Southwest Airlines and the upgrade of Runway 4/22. In May 2009, a terminal renovation project was announced that will update the ticket counters, lobby area, and baggage claim.

The Houston Air Route Traffic Control Center serves as the airport's ARTCC.

Terminal

William P. Hobby Airport consists of one Central Concourse terminal with 26 gates, all but 4 used by Southwest.

The terminal includes an interfaith chapel.

Airlines and destinations

Ground transportation

Bus

The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas, or METRO, stops at Curbzone 13.

Courtesy Vans

Courtesy vans are operated by various hotels and motels in and around the Houston Area. There are courtesy telephones in the baggage claim areas to request pick-up for most hotels and motels.

Rental Cars

The airport is served by all major rental car companies. These include Advantage, Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz, National, and Thrifty. The rental car booths are located in the baggage claim area where customers can make or confirm their reservation. Once complete, customers board their respective car rental shuttle bus to the car company site.

Shuttle Service

Shared-ride shuttle service is available at HOU. SuperShuttle takes reservations and picks-up travelers at their homes or businesses and transports them to the airport and vice versa. Additionally, regularly scheduled bus and shuttle service is provided by various carriers to locations from HOU to areas outside the Houston Metropolitan area and to Galveston and College Station. These services can be found in the baggage claim area.

Taxi

Taxis are available at Curb Zone 3.

Accidents and incidents

The following involved flights departing or arriving at the airport:

• 1959: Braniff Flight 542 crashed in Buffalo, Texas, on September 29, 1959. It was en route to Dallas, Texas, from Houston, Texas. Twenty-nine passengers and five crew members died in the crash. The plane, a turboprop Lockheed L-188 Electra with the registration number N9705C, was eleven days old when it crashed. The Civil Aeronautics Board blamed the crash on the "whirl-mode" prop theory. [33724]
• 1968: Braniff Flight 352: Broke into pieces during flight in a thunderstorm on Houston-Dallas route

Notes

1. " History of Hobby Airport," Houston Airport System
2. 1940 Air Terminal Museum - Houston Aviation History Timeline
3. " WILLIAM P. HOBBY AIRPORT." The Handbook of Texas
4. " Hobby Airport rated number one in customer satisfaction." Houston Airport System
5. " A favorite among travelers again." Houston Airport System
6. " JD Power 2008 Survey." Retrieved 6/05/2009
7. " Program Overview William P. Hobby Airport," Houston Airport System
8. " Dramatic improvements to come at Hobby," Houston Airport System
9. " KHOU," Airnav.com
10. " Interfaith Chapel" of William P. Hobby Airport. Houston Airport System
11. " Ground Transportation." William P. Hobby Airport. Retrieved on November 22, 2008.
12. " Rental Cars." William P. Hobby Airport. Retrieved on November 22, 2008.

See also

External links

• Houston Airport System — William P. Hobby Airport
• Houston Airport System — Houston Airports Today television show
• The 1940 Air Terminal Museum at William P. Hobby Airport