With plans to start work on a new terminal, Routes Americas 2022 host San Antonio is readying its next phase of growth.
By DAVID CASEY
San Antonio International Airport (SAT) welcomed more than 9.5 million passengers during 2022, representing year-on-year growth of 27% and pushing the Texas airport closer to the record levels of 10.4 million seen in 2019.
The city, which hosted Routes Americas 2022, managed to secure the return of Spirit Airlines after a 14-year absence, as well as attracting new routes from the likes of Frontier Airlines and Southwest Airlines.
“Looking at what has happened post hosting the conference, we couldn’t be more elated,” said Jesus Saenz, director of airports for the San Antonio Airport System.
“We performed exceptionally well in 2022—better than what we had previously forecasted. We reached about 91% of pre-pandemic levels—which was above the national average—and gained several new carriers, plus added multiple new nonstop destinations.”
Securing Spirit’s return was a big win for San Antonio, increasing the amount of low-cost capacity available from the airport. The Florida-based ULCC initially launched two routes last November to Orlando (MCO) and Las Vegas (LAS), with Baltimore (BWI) and Fort Lauderdale (FLL) starting earlier this month.
Alongside this, flights to Los Angeles (LAX) will begin on May 5. Saenz said the addition of LAX, announced in February, was a direct result of the support from San Antonio’s community following the airline’s entrance to the market.
OCEAN DRIVEN MEDIA
“Spirit adds additional competition at different price ranges,” he added. “It can help us to attract a different market share that would have otherwise not have traveled previously by plane. That really excites us.”
As well as seeking to further grow its domestic footprint—with routes to midwest and west coast destinations listed as targets, as well as the potential for Hawaii service—San Antonio is also aiming to add more international flights to its schedules.
“We are continuing to target Mexico and South America, and there are some European markets that we’re looking at,” Saenz said. “We’re also hoping to resume service back into Canada.”
The airport has nonstop international connections to five destinations at the present time—all of which are south of the border in Mexico. Aeromexico, Viva Aerobus and Volaris each serve SAT from Mexico City Juarez (MEX), while Viva Aerobus also has flights from Monterrey (MTY) and Leon (BJX), Southwest Airlines from Cancun (CUN), and Volaris from Guadalajara (GDL).
Sun Country Airlines is also resuming San Antonio-Cancun from May 26 for the summer season.
However, Saenz admitted that San Antonio’s network in Mexico is being held back because of the Mexico’s Category 2 safety rating with the FAA. The FAA downgraded the country’s safety rating from Category 1 status in May 2021, meaning Mexican airlines cannot add new routes and frequencies to the US.
“We’re eagerly awaiting the restoration of Category 1 status—there are some Mexican carriers that are very interested in growing their market share here in San Antonio,” Saenz said, highlighting the strong appeal for leisure, VFR and business traffic.
Alongside SAT’s more immediate route development ambitions, the airport is also looking longer term to cater for future passenger demand. Plans are afoot to build a new terminal that would be larger than the airport’s current two terminals combined.
In February, it was announced that SAT was working with Lake|Flato Architects and planning consultancy Kimley-Horn to progress the new terminal’s design in the hope that work can start in early 2024.
At 15% designed, the preliminary plan includes up to a 17-gate expansion, six of which will be able to accommodate both domestic and widebody international flights; more than 850,000 sq. ft. of new terminal space; and a Federal Inspections Service area, which will allow SAT to expand international air service.
The airport also secured a $20 million FAA grant last month that will be put toward the cost of building the ground load facility in Terminal A, increasing capacity through five new ground gates.
“There’s a lot of work to do, but we’re really preparing ourselves for the future,” Saenz said. “The ground loading facility will be built by 2025 and the new terminal facility will be completed three years later.”
In the shorter term, Saenz said that based on current levels of capacity, San Antonio is likely to exceed 2019 traffic levels during the upcoming summer 2023 season.
“Along with Spirit’s new routes, American, Delta and United are adding additional capacity and upgauging aircraft,” he said, with Delta slated to restore daily nonstop flights to New York John F. Kennedy (JFK) from May 8.
To further support air service growth, economic partnership greater:SATX has launched a regional Air Service Development Fund to attract more routes to SAT. The program, unveiled last July, includes an initial private sector investment of $3 million over two years with additional marketing and in-kind support.
“This level of partnership working is imperative to our success as we continue to move forward,” Saenz said. “It puts us in a very competitive position and will help us to deliver on some of our strategic priorities.”
