Flying high

Major Texas airport lands honor as best and cleanest in the U.S.

George Bush Intercontinental Airport Houston

Attention, passengers: Bush is the best in the U.S.

Photo courtesy of Visit Houston

Travel can be tenuous of late, and choosing a good airport for a layover or plane change can be more important than ever. Both airports in one major Texas city have just landed high honors on a prestigious global ranking.

Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport is the No.1 airport in the U.S., according to the Skytrax 2021 World Airport Awards, specifically in the World’s Top 100 Airports category.

Bush also ranks as the cleanest airport in the nation. Bush scored second-best airport in North America, achieving both honors for the second consecutive year. Soaring six spots this year, Bush now ranks No. 25 among the top 100 world airports on this list.

IAH also finished fourth in the rankings for Best U.S. Airport Staff, according to a press release.

Meanwhile, Houston's Hobby Airport received several accolades as well, including the most improved airport in the U.S. The bustling Southwest Airlines hub also ranked third in the Best Regional Airports in North America category.

Hobby ranked 49th in the Top 100 Best World Airports category — up from 67th in 2020, per a release. Additionally, Hobby ranked tenth in the Cleanest Airports - North America category.

Notably, Houston is the only U.S. city to have two airports in the Best Airports in North America and Cleanest Airports categories.

Neither D-FW Airport nor Dallas Love Field made the list.

To generate the annual rankings, the Skytrax World Airport Awards rankings analyze the annual airport customer survey for the Passenger’s Choice Awards, conducted from August 2020 until July 2021. Many travelers voted for their favorite and/or best airport based on pre-pandemic travel experiences, while other customers voted after their COVID-19 airport experience during the past 12 months, a release notes.

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Holiday News

American Airlines expects record-setting travel on Thanksgiving 2024

Photo courtesy of American Airlines

American Airlines ready for takeoff.

The holidays are looming and American Airlines is ramping up. Over the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend, the Fort Worth-based airline expects to process nearly 8.3 million customers across more than 77,000 flights.

According to a statement from American's COO David Seymour, the airline is having a good fall season and canceled fewer flights than its peers during October.

“Thanks to the hard work of our 130,000 team members, we canceled fewer flights than any of our major competitors this October and beat our own records for on-time departures and arrivals,” Seymour says.

That's surely good news. One hates to rain on their parade, but in June 2024, the only flight I booked this year, my flight was canceled less than 24 hours before take-off. I had made hotel reservations, scheduled a pet sitter, planned events, and arranged for a friend to pick me up at the destination airport. One employee speculated that it may have been "insufficient crew." Their only solution offered was: Feel free to reschedule your flight.

Thanksgiving facts and figures
The travel window runs from November 21 to December 3, and the airline expects to carry more than 500,000 more customers than it did last year.

The most-traveled day will be Sunday, December 1. The second most-traveled day will be Monday, December 2.

The peak of peak: 1,035 mainline and regional aircraft will be enroute at 10:45 am on Sunday, December 1 — the highest number of flights handled at any given time during American’s travel period.

The airline expects to serve more than 6.8 million Biscoff cookies on board from November 21 to December 3.

Travel tips
Download the American Airlines app and check in for your flight, noting added any bags to your trip. This will save you time at the airport.

If traveling internationally, download the Mobile Passport Control app, which can speed up your entry into the U.S. Global Entry members can download the Global Entry app, which allows you to submit your entry and go straight to the officer.

Upon arrival at the airport lobby, scan your mobile boarding pass to print bag tags quickly at a kiosk. If you’re not checking bags, go straight to TSA security with your mobile boarding pass.

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