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Flying the Friendlier, Post-Hurricane Skies

September 17, 2008 3:11 PM

Less than a week after Hurricane Ike struck the Texas coast, airlines are starting to resume full service in and out of the region.

Getting back off the ground in Texas after the storm:

Today, Delta Airlines announced it will be fully operating out of Houston by the end of the weekend, both at the city's William P. Hobby and George Bush Intercontinental airports.

American Airlines likewise said it expects a full schedule by Friday. The carrier was operating nine of its 12 flights today at Bush Intercontinental. At Hobby airport, the first American Eagle flight of the day was cancelled, but the other five operated as planned.

At Northwest, mainline service of three flights is up and running at Bush Intercontinental, the airline reported. (The carrier does not fly into Hobby.)

And Continental announced Tuesday that it was getting up to speed at its Houston hub, Bush Intercontinental, with more than 500 departures scheduled.

United, too, said 12 of its 13 flights were scheduled to leave Bush Intercontinental today.

At USAirways, the carrier said it was operating its full schedule at Bush Intercontinental by Tuesday afternoon, and also does not operate out of Hobby.

Foreign carriers have been restarting their service in Houston throughout the week. Southwest Airlines resumed flying some of its flights to Hobby on Tuesday.

Still, it's the availability of hotel rooms that's one reason some carriers are still not operating at 100 percent. This morning at American Airlines, three early morning flights out of Houston were cancelled because there weren't enough hotel rooms for crew members to stay in last night. American said that could also be the case tomorrow because FEMA officials are occupying many of those hotel rooms typically used by flight crews.

Similarly, Continental said it has extended its embargo on unaccompanied minors for another 24 hours because there is a lack of hotel rooms available if there's a flight delay.

Meantime, airlines are eager to cut Texas travelers a break after the storm.

On Tuesday, Continental said it was offering lower fares for travelers leaving from Houston and from Beaumont/Port Arthur, Texas. Delta also made people that offer on Wednesday, telling travelers leaving from Houston in the next two weeks that they can buy low-price tickets through Friday -- starting a $69 one way for shorter trips.

"As Gulf Coast residents pull together to recover from the damage caused by Hurricane Ike, we want to help make their lives a little easier by providing special discounted fares for travel from the region," said Jim Compton, Continental's executive vice president of marketing, in a Tuesday statement. "We want our customers to know that if they need to travel soon or are just ready for a break, we are here to help."

United also said today that it has relaxed change fees so that people who want to change travel plans to and from about a dozen airports are able to given the storm.

Houston is a large hub that accommodated 52 million travelers in 2007, according to the Houston Airport System. Flights stopped operating in the city last Friday as Hurricane Ike struck the Texas coast. Two days after the hurricane, all domestic carriers that serve the airport were back up and running at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport, according to the Houston Airport System -- even if not all of the carriers' flights had resumed.

-ABC News' Lisa Stark, Kate Barrett and Tim Jaconette

September 17, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (0)

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