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Behind the scenes with United Airlines
FOX 26 Reporter Matthew Seedorff has more after checking out United's operation behind the scenes.
HOUSTON - Record crowds are expected to travel this Thanksgiving and that includes in and out of Houston.
According to AAA, 4 million Texans are expected to travel between Wednesday and Sunday this week. Roughly 300,000 of those Texans will be flying for the holiday.
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At Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport, United has more than 400 flights scheduled per day during the Thanksgiving holiday travel period.
On Tuesday, FOX 26 went behind the scenes with United Airlines operations workers.
"It does feel like the busiest travel week ever," said Daniel Reed, Director of Station Operations for United Airlines in Houston. "It definitely does."
A record-breaking year for Houston airports, expected to see roughly 2.4 million passengers this Thanksgiving. Most of those travelers will be flying through Bush Airport.
"It’s like a conference championship game," said Reed. "The second half of December is like a 2-week Super Bowl."
Within Station Operations at IAH for United, crews work to have flights leave on time. They manage everything going on and off United flights. During the busy travel season, they notice the impacts behind the scenes.
"Every line of business that we’re doing is feeling it," said Reed. "As we’re loading passengers, we’re loading more passengers and more bags. The complexities are higher, so that means we’re constantly adjusting. It’s a dynamic plan."
On Tuesday, United also had FOX 26 inside their virtual ramp tower. Workers here talk with pilots and use new technology to organize and maneuver all flights taxiing at IAH to try and avoid delays.
"This is actually the busiest travel week we’ve had pretty much ever," said Air Traffic Systems Manager Sara Smasal.
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United’s virtual tower in Houston is one of only a handful in the country with this sort of technology.
"We have a lot of tools we can use to make life easier," said Smasal.
About 55,000 United passengers are expected in Houston’s Bush Airport Tuesday and Wednesday. On Sunday, about 60,000 are expected.
Officials recommend arriving to the airport early to prepare for the large crowds.