San Antonio International Airport News & Updates

[SAguy]

From: San Antonio Express-News

San Antonio International Airport could soon get another nonstop flight to a foreign destination.

In its first quarter presentation to investors, Air Canada presented a map of potential travel routes that included a stop in the nation’s sixth most populous city. 

News of the airline's potential return to San Antonio was posted to X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter, by Ishrion Aviation, a Texas-based aviation reporter with over 10,000 followers.

“The airline tells me it shows both current routes and ‘aspirational’ ones for the future,” the post reads, noting that there are "obviously no guarantees" but that the map could "signal what's next" for the airline's growth. 

Air Canada ended its nonstop route to San Antonio in 2019 because it did not meet expectations during off-peak months. The flight was launched two years earlier, beginning as a daily nonstop route before being reduced to five times a week.

Air Canada did not immediately respond Sunday to a request for comment. If the airline does return to San Antonio, it will mark the ninth international destination with direct service to the Alamo City. Seven of those locations are in Mexico.

In September, as part of a push to introduce the city to overseas markets, the airport announced its first-ever flight to Europe with a nonstop route to Frankfurt, Germany.

[SAhometown]

Here is the presentation from Air Canada. As Ishrion Aviation has stated future routes "aspirational" at this point. I don't see them restarting service here until they acquire more aircraft though.When this happens I see just summer 5x-daily seasonal. They did do well during the summer months.

https://filecache.investorroom.com/m...esentation.pdf

[texboy]

Originally Posted by SAhometown

Here is the presentation from Air Canada. As Ishrion Aviation has stated future routes "aspirational" at this point. I don't see them restarting service here until they acquire more aircraft though.When this happens I see just summer 5x-daily seasonal. They did do well during the summer months.

https://filecache.investorroom.com/m...esentation.pdf

Agreed. I think starting seasonal Summer would eventually work into daily year round once people know about and use the route. SAT definitely needs a route to Toronto again.

[El Santo]

Does anybody know where or how to see what San Antonio's top unserved international markets are? There was a thread on airliners.net for Austin where they had that info for their airport and I would love to see the same info for San Antonio.

[Keep-SA-Lame]

If you scroll up a bit in this thread there's data on all destinations from SAT. The top 10 that currently have no direct flights from SAT are (in order): Portland, Indianapolis, Norfolk, Cleveland, Columbus, Pittsburgh, Albuquerque, Jacksonville, Richmond and Omaha. I think the obvious target from the list would be Portland. Also something in the Midwest like Indianapolis or Cleveland would be good gets as well. My gut is that SAT-ABQ would do well also.

Edit: Whoops, top was actually Sacramento, sorry. And apparently there's weekend service on Southwest to ABQ I wasn't aware of.

[El Santo]

I saw that post and would love a direct flight to Portland, but I was wondering if anybody had the international numbers (not Mexico).

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by Keep-SA-Lame

If you scroll up a bit in this thread there's data on all destinations from SAT. The top 10 that currently have no direct flights from SAT are (in order): Portland, Indianapolis, Norfolk, Cleveland, Columbus, Pittsburgh, Albuquerque, Jacksonville, Richmond and Omaha. I think the obvious target from the list would be Portland. Also something in the Midwest like Indianapolis or Cleveland would be good gets as well. My gut is that SAT-ABQ would do well also.

Edit: Whoops, top was actually Sacramento, sorry. And apparently there's weekend service on Southwest to ABQ I wasn't aware of.

San Antonio to Norfolk might also do well—that’s a major military institution and the two cities share a lot of industry/economic sector overlap.

[texboy]

Originally Posted by El Santo

I saw that post and would love a direct flight to Portland, but I was wondering if anybody had the international numbers (not Mexico).

SAT had a Portland flight on either Alaska or Sun Country pre-Pandemic, And I believe it did well too.

[Keep-SA-Lame]

Originally Posted by El Santo

I saw that post and would love a direct flight to Portland, but I was wondering if anybody had the international numbers (not Mexico).

Sorry, thought that included international.

[ILUVSAT]

Originally Posted by texboy

SAT had a Portland flight on either Alaska or Sun Country pre-Pandemic, And I believe it did well too.

Sometimes we forget...the pandemic was four years ago. If the route was very profitable, it would have returned. That doesn't mean it might return in the future, however.

Airlines are clamoring for the most profitable routes and dumping non-profitable ones in an effort to get back into the black.

[satx23]

Originally Posted by ILUVSAT

Sometimes we forget...the pandemic was four years ago. If the route was very profitable, it would have returned. That doesn't mean it might return in the future, however.

Airlines are clamoring for the most profitable routes and dumping non-profitable ones in an effort to get back into the black.

SAT-PDX-SAT

Year quarter passengers
2023 4 181
2023 3 192
2023 2 194
2023 1 173
2022 2 163
2022 1 135
2022 4 171
2022 3 159
2021 1 88
2021 2 152
2021 4 160
2021 3 161
2020 2 37
2020 3 82
2020 4 86
2020 1 126
2019 1 162
2019 4 187
2019 2 228
2019 3 232
2018 4 187
2018 1 122
2018 3 178
2018 2 159
2017 1 124
2017 3 158
2017 2 148
2017 4 141
2016 4 151
2016 3 161
2016 2 168
2016 1 114

[texboy]

Is this passengers each day? one leg of a route?

[satx23]

Originally Posted by texboy

Is this passengers each day? one leg of a route?

All records are aggregated as directionless city pair markets. All traffic traveling in both directions is added together.

[JACKinBeantown]

Originally Posted by satx23

All records are aggregated as directionless city pair markets. All traffic traveling in both directions is added together.

Per day, week, month, quarter?

[ILUVSAT]

I think those numbers are per day average for the respective quarter. If that is true, then here are the average load factors for Alaska's fleet based on the average daily movement since 1Q2021:

All of their B737-900 models = 45%
B737-800 Max = 50%
B737-800 = 54%
B737-700 = 64%
E175 = 105%. (SAT-PDX would be near the max range for this equipment)

[satx23]

Originally Posted by JACKinBeantown

Per day, week, month, quarter?

Average pax per day traveling between San Antonio and Portland. The stats are posted quarterly.

[JACKinBeantown]

Originally Posted by satx23

Average pax per day traveling between San Antonio and Portland. The stats are posted quarterly.

Thanks.

[babysal]

House passage of the Senate legislation would open up five new routes from Ronald Reagan National Airport.

By W. Scott Bailey – Senior Reporter, San Antonio Business Journal
May 9, 2024

After a yearslong push by San Antonio leaders to secure nonstop flights to Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C., the Alamo City has cleared a major hurdle with a landmark vote. The U.S. Senate has approved a Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill to allow long-haul flights from Reagan to five additional destinations.

Texas leaders are hopeful San Antonio will land one of those slots.
“This reauthorization bill, importantly, includes a range of reforms, and it will modernize and improve the FAA,” said Sen. John Cornyn, who was raised in the Alamo City. “This legislation also delivers a major win for Texas, and in particular, San Antonio.”

The U.S. House must still vote on the legislation, but U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, told me late last week that he was confident his colleagues would also approve the bill. “This is the closest that we've come in quite some time,” he said.

A federal regulatory wall known as the Perimeter Rule, established in 1966 when jet aircraft first began operating at Reagan National, has prevented San Antonio nonstop access to DCA. It was put in place to drive more traffic to Washington Dulles International Airport.

“Years ago, there were slots added. It came down to San Antonio and Austin,” Castro said. “We’ve been pushing ever since then.”

Mayor Ron Nirenberg and others contend that rule has created an economic barrier between the seventh largest city in the nation and the Washington, D.C., area for far too long. “You can fly directly from Washington, D.C. — from Reagan National Airport — to Houston, to Dallas, to Austin, but you can't fly directly to San Antonio,” Cornyn said. “I am optimistic that this will change soon.”

Pending House approval of the additional slots, airlines will ultimately determine what routes are added.

“It is the furthest that we've come. I feel like a lot of the big obstacles have been crossed,” Castro said prior to the Senate vote.

It's been a more than 10-year push by San Antonio leaders. Now, there is one less obstacle.

City Manager Erik Walsh said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, the ranking member of the Senate Transportation Committee, was integral in securing the language, which creates an opportunity for San Antonio to pursue one of the slots with an airline partner.

[forward looking]

Those programs are called "San Antonio remembered" Restless one. Sure. There were three or four of them along with one entitled "Wings over San Antonio". Good programs alright. Narrated by Henry Guerra, an announcer off of WOAI radio station before the station became a mere megaphone for the GOP. I think all the programs are about Hemisfair and the changes it brought to downtown.
The big uproar back then was about the very old Czech enclave downtown and the other ethnic communities, which were removed forcefully in their entirety in the name of public domain and thus destroyed. Scattered to the four winds. For some this was the only home they had ever known and I recall one old soul whom refused to leave no matter what. Well he was picked up in the chair he was sitting in and carried out and his house, razed.
I recall a take over like this happening three times in the City. When I-37 south was built and again when the immense slum was cleared, just west of downtown.

Originally Posted by Restless One

I caught an episode of "Remember San Antonio" or something like that last Sunday on channel 9. It focused on Downtown, and was likely produced some decades ago, but it was interesting to see the Boom/Bust/Boom of DT. It didn't really cover much after Hemisfair, and it seems an updated version of that show is overdue.

[satx23]

Project Name:
SAT GLF: Package 1, Terminal A Ground Loading Facility

Start Date: 9/1/2024
Completion Date: 10/1/2025
Estimated Cost: $35,200,000
Type of Work: Additions to Existing Building

Scope of Work: Project is an expansion of the existing Terminal A consisting of a pre-engineered metal bldg. with 3 new holdrooms & 5 hardstands for aircraft. Scope includes the building and interior systems, selective demolition, new paving & site utilities.

https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/TABS/Sear...TABS2024018424