Tag Archives for austin.
Austin is building a six-gate remote terminal on the west side of the airfield, with passengers bused over from the main terminal and only limited concessions inside. City officials say Concourse M is for overflow, diversions, and construction relief, but with the airport already tight on gate space, the bigger question is which airlines may wind up using it for regular flights.
Delta has already made clear it wants Austin to become a major growth city, with more gates, more lounges, more flights, and even Seoul in its sights. After adding flights to American’s Miami hub it is now adding Phoenix. As American is distracted by its fight with United at Chicago, Delta is encroaching on American’s hubs.
Security lines at Austin-Bergstrom stretched outside the terminal before dawn Friday, and plenty of travelers assumed the partial government shutdown was already disrupting screening. That wasn’t it. The real problem was a predictable surge from Spring Break and the tail end of South By Southwest colliding with slower TSA procedures and an agency that still does a poor job staffing for obvious spikes in demand.
American Airlines just announced plans for a new 12,000+ square foot Admirals Club at Austin-Bergstrom, and it’s not just bigger — it will be the carrier’s first lounge with an outdoor terrace. The club will sit on the west side of the terminal, right where American’s gates are concentrated, and the airline says it will offer elevated design, full kitchen facilities, and views of downtown Austin and the airfield.
Delta Air Lines just committed to a huge expansion in Austin, exclusively revealed here for the first time—planning not one, but two new lounges, including a massive Sky Club and a separate premium Delta One lounge. Here’s what we uncovered about Delta’s ambitious plan at the airport.
Spirit’s first class was cheaper than extra-legroom coach on American, Delta, or United — and it was the only way for my whole family to sit together. The booking was a headache, but the flights themselves were surprisingly good, and the math made the decision easy.
Hyatt Regency Austin has completed its renovation, with modernized rooms, a redesigned lobby, an upgraded market, and a suite-upgrade approach that’s unusually generous for a Category 4 property. It’s still one of the best ways to use a Category 1–4 certificate, especially during peak Austin events like SXSW, where cash rates can top $750 while award nights run just 18,000 points.
Delta is preparing to launch Austin–Miami service as part of its massive expansion in Central Texas, a move insiders say is designed to “emotionally bruise” American Airlines.
Here’s what Delta is telling employees – they get 15 preferred use gates (not actually ‘exclusive use’ which is a term of art). They’ll stay on the current concourse with American (and British Airways, KLM and Lufthansa et al) while Southwest and United move to the new concourse.
Delta Air Lines is growing to 29 destinations out of Austin. Delta currently flies to 25 destinations from Austin. Along with their regional partners, they operate 22% of flights and offer 19% of seats out of the airport. They’re number two behind Southwest, which offers 39% of flights and 41% of seats. The two carriers are duking it out to be anchor tenant for the new airport lease and use agreement as a new concourse gets built. Delta says they see themselves growing to Southwest’s current size in Austin. But Southwest isn’t sitting still. They think they could grow by 50%. Austin Business Journal quotes Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan: (HT: Enilria) [O]ur intent is to continue to grow our share of the market here…People are flocking to Austin because of the business environment and…
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
