Austin was ranked as the number one travel destination for passengers flying out of Dallas, according to data obtained by the Dallas Business Journal.
The data tracked the travel patterns of passengers flying out of Dallas Love Field and DFW International Airport in 2022. American Airlines flew the most passengers to the top five ranking destinations out of any other airline last year.
American Airlines flew to Austin from DFW more than any other destination. However, those flights to Austin were not very profitable.
In many instances, those flights were not full. Flights between Austin and DFW had a load factor of 63%, meaning, on average, around a third of the plane was empty each flight.
Jason Reisinger, the managing director of global network planning for American, told WFAA that the Austin flights are essential for people trying to get to either of the two cities. In addition, because DFW is an American Airlines hub, travelers coming out of Austin can connect to many different destinations. Also, passengers going through DFW can connect to Austin.
After Austin, the second-most popular destination was Los Angeles, followed by New York LaGuardia. The fourth-most popular destination was Miami, and Charlotte rounded out the top five.
American Airlines operated 4,771 flights from DFW to Austin last year, 4,431 to Los Angeles, 4,400 to New York LaGuardia, 3,552 to Miami, and 3,580 to Charlotte. Miami ranked ahead of Charlotte due to greater seating capacity (679,658 vs. 677,152), even though the number of flights was less.
Southwest Airlines managed to steal some of the spotlight from American Airlines by flying out the most passengers to the sixth-ranked destination, Houston. Southwest flew from Dallas Love Field to Houston 3,604 times last year.
Although Southwest operated slightly more flights to Houston than American Airlines flew to Charlotte, the Houston destination was ranked below Charlotte due to less total seating capacity on the flights (562,188 vs. 677,152).
It is no surprise that the two locally-based airlines have operated so many flights in the past year. DFW International Airport was ranked second on the list of the ten busiest airports in the world, according to a report released last week by the Airports Council International, an airport trade association.
Four other American airports also made the list: Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport was ranked first, Denver was ranked third, Chicago O’Hare was ranked fourth, and Los Angeles was ranked sixth.