104-402: Houston International Airport may refer to: William P. Hobby Airport , previously Houston International Airport George Bush Intercontinental Airport , Houston, Texas' main international airport See also [ edit ] Houston Airport (disambiguation) Houston County Airport (disambiguation) [REDACTED] Topics referred to by
208-460: A Lockheed 14 Super Electra (NX18973, a twin-engine transport with a crew of four) fitted with the latest radio and navigational equipment. Harry Connor was the co-pilot, Thomas Thurlow the navigator, Richard Stoddart the engineer, and Ed Lund the mechanic. Hughes wanted the flight to be a triumph of U.S. aviation technology, illustrating that safe, long-distance air travel was possible. Albert Lodwick of Mystic, Iowa , provided organizational skills as
312-604: A Thomas-Morse Scout while filming Hell's Angels , one while setting the airspeed record in the Hughes Racer, one at Lake Mead in 1943, and the near-fatal crash of the Hughes XF-11 in 1946. At Rogers Airport in Los Angeles, he learned to fly from pioneer aviators, including Moye Stephens and J.B. Alexander. He set many world records and commissioned the construction of custom aircraft for himself while heading Hughes Aircraft at
416-521: A scar on his upper lip resulting from the accident. The War Production Board , a civilian government agency that supervised war production from 1942-45, originally contracted with Henry Kaiser and Hughes to produce the gigantic HK-1 Hercules flying boat for use during World War II to transport troops and equipment across the Atlantic as an alternative to seagoing troop transport ships that were vulnerable to German U-boats . The military services opposed
520-863: A " milk run " multi-stop service on a routing of Houston-Austin-San Angelo-Midland/Odessa-El Paso-Tucson-Phoenix-Los Angeles while Continental Viscounts also flew direct to Lubbock and Amarillo. In summer 1965, American Airlines only had one jet flight a day from Hobby, a Boeing 707 flying Houston-San Antonio-El Paso-Phoenix-Oakland-San Francisco. Eastern Boeing 727-100s flew nonstop to Washington D.C. Dulles Airport , New Orleans and Corpus Christi and direct to New York Newark Airport and Boston. Eastern Boeing 720s flew nonstop to New York JFK Airport , Atlanta, New Orleans and San Antonio and direct to Boston and Philadelphia. By 1966, Houston-based Trans-Texas Airways ( TTa ) had introduced Douglas DC-9-10s with nonstop flights to Dallas Love Field , Corpus Christi and Baton Rouge and direct to New Orleans. In 1966, Braniff
624-489: A "dual hub" operation in Houston with a hub at Intercontinental Airport (IAH) and a second hub at Hobby. In February 1987, Continental had nonstops from Hobby to Austin, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York LaGuardia Airport , San Antonio and Washington D.C. National Airport . Nonstop "cross town" shuttle service was also being flown between HOU and IAH with Douglas DC-9-10s by Emerald Air operating as
728-499: A brief stint at The Thacher School , Hughes attended math and aeronautical engineering courses at Caltech . The red-brick house where Hughes lived as a teenager at 3921 Yoakum Blvd., Houston, still stands, now known as Hughes House on the grounds of the University of St. Thomas . His mother Allene died in March 1922 from complications of an ectopic pregnancy . Howard Hughes Sr. died of
832-431: A comedy picture. The Racket (1928) and The Front Page (1931) were also nominated for Academy Awards . Hughes spent $ 3.5 million to make the flying film Hell's Angels (1930). Hell's Angels received one Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography . He produced another hit, Scarface (1932), a production delayed by censors' concern over its violence. The Outlaw premiered in 1943, but
936-653: A directive to order 100 of a reconnaissance development of the D-2, known as the F-11 ( XF-11 in prototype form). The project was controversial from the beginning, as the USAAF Air Materiel Command deeply doubted that Hughes Aircraft could fulfill a contract this large, but Arnold pushed the project forward. Materiel Command demanded a host of major design changes notably including the elimination of Duramold; Hughes, who sought $ 3.9 million in reimbursement for sunk costs from
1040-470: A flight around the world in just 91 hours (three days, 19 hours, 17 minutes), beating the previous record of 186 hours (seven days, 18 hours, 49 minutes) set in 1933 by Wiley Post in a single-engine Lockheed Vega by almost four days. Hughes returned home ahead of photographs of his flight. Taking off from New York City, Hughes continued to Paris, Moscow, Omsk , Yakutsk , Fairbanks , and Minneapolis , then returning to New York City. For this flight he flew
1144-408: A heart attack in 1924. Their deaths apparently inspired Hughes to include the establishment of a medical research laboratory in the will that he signed in 1925 at age 19. Howard Sr.'s will had not been updated since Allene's death, and Hughes Jr. inherited 75% of the family fortune. On his 19th birthday, Hughes was declared an emancipated minor , enabling him to take full control of his life. From
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#17328692812801248-522: A living person. The city of Houston opened a new air terminal and hangar in 1940. The first three Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) training classes were held at the Houston Municipal Airport in 1943. In June 1948, Braniff International Airways began international flights from Houston operated with Douglas DC-4 and DC-6s to South America via Cuba and Panama. In the June 1948 timetable,
1352-458: A month, but Durkin's daughter denied knowing that he received any money from Hughes. Despite his physical injuries, Hughes took pride that his mind was still working. As he lay in his hospital bed, he decided that he did not like the bed's design. He called in plant engineers to design a customized bed, equipped with hot and cold running water, built in six sections, and operated by 30 electric motors, with push-button adjustments. Hughes designed
1456-735: A more refined cosmopolitan city. In addition to the Desert Inn, Hughes would eventually own the Sands , Frontier , Silver Slipper , Castaways , and Landmark and Harold's Club in Reno. During his four years in Las Vegas, Hughes became the largest employer in Nevada. Another portion of Hughes' commercial interests involved aviation, airlines, and the aerospace and defense industries. A lifelong aircraft enthusiast and pilot, Hughes survived four airplane accidents: one in
1560-576: A near-fatal plane crash, and increasing deafness . As a film tycoon, Hughes gained fame in Hollywood beginning in the late 1920s, when he produced big-budget and often controversial films such as The Racket (1928), Hell's Angels (1930), and Scarface (1932). He later acquired the RKO Pictures film studio in 1948, recognized then as one of the Big Five studios of Hollywood's Golden Age , although
1664-531: A network of radio stations known as the RKO Radio Network . In 1948, Hughes gained control of RKO, a struggling major Hollywood studio, by acquiring the 929,000 shares owned by Floyd Odlum 's Atlas Corporation , for $ 8,825,000 ($ 107,165,160 in 2023). Within weeks of acquiring the studio, Hughes dismissed 700 employees. Production dwindled to 9 pictures during the first year of Hughes' control; previously RKO had averaged 30 per year. That same year, 1948, he
1768-531: A new Denver route starting in September. William P. Hobby Airport has a single terminal with two concourses (one domestic and one international) and 30 overall gates. The domestic concourse, which has various retail shops and restaurants, opened in 2003 and replaced the original three concourses, which dated back to the 1950s. It also includes an interfaith chapel . The international concourse opened on October 15, 2015. In February 2020, Hobby Airport became
1872-708: A petition. Southwest also started a website just for supporters of international flights from Hobby, freehobbyairport.com. United Airlines, Houston's other major carrier, which would later be forced to compete with Southwest on proposed international routes, has objected to the expansion plans, citing a study which concludes that the change would cost the Houston area jobs and result in a net reduction in GRP. Houston Mayor Annise Parker backed Southwest's fight to make Hobby an international airport on May 23, 2012. On May 30, 2012, Houston's city council approved Southwest's request for international flights from Hobby. The groundbreaking of
1976-454: A severe gash on the top of his head when he hit the upper control panel and had to be rescued by one of the others on board. Hughes paid divers $ 100,000 to raise the aircraft and later spent more than $ 500,000 restoring it. Hughes sent the plane to Houston, where it remained for many years. Acting on a recommendation of the president's son, Colonel Elliott Roosevelt , who had become friends with Hughes, in September 1943 General Arnold issued
2080-420: A short film, Swell Hogan , which Graves had written and would star in. Hughes himself produced it. When he screened it, he thought it was a disaster. After hiring a film editor to try to salvage it, he finally ordered that it be destroyed. His next two films, Everybody's Acting (1926) and Two Arabian Knights (1927), achieved financial success; the latter won the first Academy Award for Best Director of
2184-461: A successful inventor and businessman from Missouri. He had English , Welsh and some French Huguenot ancestry, and was a descendant of John Gano (1727–1804), the minister who allegedly baptized George Washington . Through John Gano's sister Sussanah, Hughes was a 5th cousin once-removed of the Wright brothers , Orville and Wilbur, who invented the first successful airplane. Hughes Sr. patented
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#17328692812802288-445: A young age, Hughes became a proficient and enthusiastic golfer. He often scored near-par figures, playing the game to a two-three handicap during his 20s, and for a time aimed for a professional golf career. He golfed frequently with top players, including Gene Sarazen . Hughes rarely played competitively and gradually gave up his passion for the sport to pursue other interests. Hughes played golf every afternoon at LA courses including
2392-588: Is Houston's oldest commercial airport, and was its primary airport until the Houston Intercontinental Airport, now known as the George Bush Intercontinental Airport , opened in 1969. Hobby was initially closed after the opening of Houston Intercontinental; however, it was re-opened after several years, and became a secondary airport for domestic airline service, and a center for corporate and private aviation . Houston Hobby
2496-596: Is an operating base for Southwest Airlines , which has international and domestic flights from HOU, and carries the vast majority of its passengers. As of December 2017 , Houston Hobby is the fifth largest airport in Southwest's network. Southwest opened its first international terminal at Houston Hobby, and began service from Houston Hobby to Mexico and Central and South America on October 15, 2015. The William P. Hobby Airport covers 1,304 acres (528 ha), and has three runways. Its original art deco terminal building,
2600-448: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages William P. Hobby Airport William P. Hobby Airport ( IATA : HOU , ICAO : KHOU , FAA LID : HOU ) — colloquially referred to as Houston Hobby or other short names — is an international airport in Houston , Texas , located 7 mi (11 km) from downtown Houston . Hobby
2704-469: Is held 20 feet (6.1 m) above the ground by three steel tree trunks. The nest is depicted floating above a subtropical garden. The artists created the work to depict the spirit of Houston's industrial force along the coastal plain . "Take-off" is located at Hobby's Broadway Street entrance. The Houston Air Route Traffic Control Center serves as the airport's ARTCC . Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976)
2808-556: The Beverly Hills neighborhood surrounding the country club. When the XF-11 finally came to a halt after destroying three houses, the fuel tanks exploded, setting fire to the aircraft and a nearby home at 808 North Whittier Drive owned by Charles E. Meyer. Hughes managed to pull himself out of the flaming wreckage but lay beside the aircraft until he was rescued by U.S. Marine Corps Master Sergeant William L. Durkin, who happened to be in
2912-707: The H-4 Hercules . The weather conditions at the lake during the day were ideal and he enjoyed Las Vegas at night. On May 17, 1943, Hughes flew the Sikorsky from California, carrying two Civil Aeronautics Authority (CAA) aviation inspectors, two of his employees, and actress Ava Gardner . Hughes dropped Gardner off in Las Vegas and proceeded to Lake Mead to conduct qualifying tests in the S-43. The test flight did not go well. The Sikorsky crashed into Lake Mead, killing CAA inspector Ceco Cline and Hughes' employee Richard Felt. Hughes suffered
3016-507: The Hughes Research Laboratories , which focused on advanced developments in microelectronics, information & systems sciences, materials, sensors, and photonics; their work-space spans from basic research to product delivery. It has particularly emphasized capabilities in high-performance integrated circuits, high-power lasers, antennas, networking, and smart materials. On July 14, 1938, Hughes set another record by completing
3120-670: The Hughes Space and Communications Company in 1961. In 1953 Howard Hughes gave all his stock in the Hughes Aircraft Company to the newly formed Howard Hughes Medical Institute, thereby turning the aerospace and defense contractor into a tax-exempt charitable organization. The Howard Hughes Medical Institute sold Hughes Aircraft in 1985 to General Motors for $ 5.2 billion. In 1997 General Motors sold Hughes Aircraft to Raytheon and in 2000, sold Hughes Space & Communications to Boeing. A combination of Boeing, GM, and Raytheon acquired
3224-742: The Hughes Tool Company purchased the North Las Vegas Air Terminal. Originally known as Summa Corporation , the Howard Hughes Corporation formed in 1972 when the oil-tools business of Hughes Tool Company, then owned by Howard Hughes Jr., floated on the New York Stock Exchange under the "Hughes Tool" name. This forced the remaining businesses of the "original" Hughes Tool to adopt a new corporate name: "Summa". The name "Summa"—Latin for "highest"—was adopted without
Houston International Airport - Misplaced Pages Continue
3328-571: The William P. Hobby Airport in Houston, Texas —known at the time as Houston Municipal Airport—was renamed after Hughes, but the name was changed back due to public outrage over naming the airport after a living person. Hughes also had a role in the financing of the Boeing 307 Stratoliner for TWA, and the design and financing of the Lockheed L-049 Constellation . Other aviator awards include:
3432-596: The airport in Glendale , CA. Operating from there, the most technologically important aircraft he commissioned was the Hughes H-1 Racer . On September 13, 1935, Hughes, flying the H-1, set the landplane airspeed record of 352 mph (566 km/h) over his test course near Santa Ana, California ( Giuseppe Motta reaching 362 mph in 1929 and George Stainforth reached 407.5 mph in 1931, both in seaplanes). This marked
3536-551: The flight operations manager. While Hughes had previously been relatively obscure despite his wealth, better known for dating Katharine Hepburn , New York City now gave him a ticker-tape parade in the Canyon of Heroes . Hughes and his crew were awarded the 1938 Collier Trophy for flying around the world in record time. He was awarded the Harmon Trophy in 1936 and 1938 for the record-breaking global circumnavigation. In 1938
3640-556: The two-cone roller bit in 1909, which allowed rotary drilling for petroleum in previously inaccessible places. The senior Hughes made the shrewd and lucrative decision to commercialize the invention by leasing the bits instead of selling them, obtaining several early patents, and founding the Hughes Tool Company in 1909. Hughes' uncle was the famed novelist, screenwriter, and film director Rupert Hughes . A 1941 affidavit birth certificate of Hughes, signed by his aunt Annette Gano Lummis and by Estelle Boughton Sharp, states that he
3744-411: The "Houston Proud Express" or Continental with these flights using "CO" flight numbers with seven round trips a day. CO one-stops flew from Hobby to Bozeman, MT, Orlando, Sacramento and Tucson. Continental was operating up to 37 departures a day from HOU with Boeing 727-100s , 727-200s , 737-200s , 737-300s , Douglas DC-9-10s and McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30s . The airline shut down its hub at Hobby and
3848-568: The 1930s. He was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1973 and was included in Flying magazine's 2013 list of the 51 Heroes of Aviation, ranked at No. 25. During his final years, Hughes extended his financial empire to include several major businesses in Las Vegas , such as real estate, hotels, casinos, and media outlets. Known at the time as one of the most powerful men in
3952-450: The 1980s. Several other airlines were based at the airport in the past as well, including Pioneer Air Lines and Trans-Texas Airways ( TTa ) with the latter then changing its name to Texas International Airlines . Trans-Texas followed by Texas International operated a hub at the airport as well. Pioneer and Texas International merged with Continental Airlines , Pioneer in 1955 and Texas International in 1982. Continental continued to use
4056-553: The 45-minute limit decreed by the USAAF, possibly distracted by landing gear retraction problems. An oil leak caused one of the contra-rotating propellers to reverse pitch, causing the aircraft to yaw sharply and lose altitude rapidly. Hughes attempted to save the aircraft by landing it at the Los Angeles Country Club golf course, but just seconds before reaching the course, the XF-11 started to drop dramatically and crashed in
4160-725: The Bibesco Cup of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale in 1938, the Octave Chanute Award in 1940, and a special Congressional Gold Medal in 1939 "in recognition of the achievements of Howard Hughes in advancing the science of aviation and thus bringing great credit to his country throughout the world". President Harry S. Truman sent the Congressional medal to Hughes after the F-11 crash. After his around-the-world flight, Hughes had declined to go to
4264-405: The D-2 and powered by two Pratt & Whitney R-4360 -31 engines, each driving a set of contra-rotating propellers . Only two prototypes were completed; the second one had a conventional single propeller per side. Hughes was almost killed on July 7, 1946, while performing the first flight of the XF-11 near Hughes Airfield at Culver City, California . Hughes extended the test flight well beyond
Houston International Airport - Misplaced Pages Continue
4368-534: The D-2 returned to the hangar for extensive changes to its wings, and Hughes proposed to redesignate it as the D-5. However, in November 1944, the still-incomplete D-2 was destroyed in a hangar fire reportedly caused by a lightning strike. In the spring of 1943 Hughes spent nearly a month in Las Vegas , test-flying his Sikorsky S-43 amphibious aircraft, practicing touch-and-go landings on Lake Mead in preparation for flying
4472-444: The D-2, strenuously objected because this undercut his argument that the XF-11 was a modified D-2 rather than a new design. Protracted negotiations caused months of delays but ultimately yielded few design concessions. The war ended before the first XF-11 prototype was completed and the F-11 production contract was canceled. The XF-11 emerged in 1946 as an all-metal, twin-boom, three-seat reconnaissance aircraft, substantially larger than
4576-713: The H-1 Racer was donated to the Smithsonian . In 1932 Hughes founded the Hughes Aircraft Company , a division of Hughes Tool Company, in a rented corner of a Lockheed Aircraft Corporation hangar in Burbank, California, to build the H-1 racer. Shortly after founding the company, Hughes used the alias "Charles Howard" to accept a job as a baggage handler for American Airlines. He was soon promoted to co-pilot. Hughes continued to work for American Airlines until his real identity
4680-539: The International Building at Hobby until the late 1960s. In 1966, Pan Am was operating a daily Boeing 707 flight nonstop to Mexico City with continuing, no change of plane service to Guatemala City, Guatemala ; San Salvador, El Salvador ; Managua, Nicaragua ; San José, Costa Rica and Panama City, Panama . In 1969, both airlines moved to IAH and the International Building was demolished. Braniff International operated international service as well from
4784-635: The Lakeside Golf Club, Wilshire Country Club , or the Bel-Air Country Club . Partners included George Von Elm or Ozzie Carlton. After Hughes hurt himself in the late 1920s, his golfing tapered off, and after his XF-11 crash, Hughes was unable to play at all. Hughes withdrew from Rice University shortly after his father's death. On June 1, 1925, he married Ella Botts Rice, daughter of David Rice and Martha Lawson Botts of Houston, and great-niece of William Marsh Rice , for whom Rice University
4888-590: The USAAC) struggled to define a mission for the D-2, which lacked both the maneuverability of a fighter and the payload of a bomber , and was highly skeptical of the extensive use of plywood; however, the project was kept alive by high-level intervention from General Henry H. Arnold . The prototype was brought to Harper's Dry Lake in California in great secrecy in 1943 and first flew on June 20 of that year. The initial test flights revealed serious flight control problems, so
4992-535: The White House to collect it. Development of the D-2 began around 1937, but little is known about its early gestation because Hughes' archives on the aircraft have not been made public. Aircraft historian René Francillon speculates that Hughes designed the aircraft for another circumnavigation record attempt, but the outbreak of World War II closed much of the world's airspace and made it difficult to buy aircraft parts without government approval, so he decided to sell
5096-422: The aforementioned "Houston Proud Express" with DC-9s between HOU and IAH), the original Frontier Airlines , Muse Air , People Express , Republic Airlines and TranStar Airlines . Alaska Airlines also served Hobby in 1990 via an interchange agreement with American Airlines which enabled direct Boeing 727-200s to Anchorage and Fairbanks via Dallas/Ft. Worth and Seattle. At one point, Continental Airlines
5200-495: The aircraft to the U.S. Army instead. In December 1939, Hughes proposed that the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) procure it as a "pursuit type airplane" (i.e. a fighter aircraft ). It emerged as a two or three-seat twin-boom aircraft powered by two Pratt & Whitney R-2800 -49 engines and constructed mostly of Duramold , a type of molded plywood . The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF, successor to
5304-586: The airline had two flights a week to Havana, Cuba – Panama City, Panama (via Balboa, Canal Zone ) – Guayaquil, Ecuador – Lima, Peru and a third flight that skipped Guayaquil. In 1949, Braniff flew direct via Lima to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and La Paz, Bolivia . In 1950, Pan American World Airways ( Pan Am ) began nonstop Douglas DC-4 service to Mexico City . On October 1, 1950, Chicago and Southern Air Lines began flying new Lockheed Constellations nonstop to St. Louis and direct to Chicago Midway Airport . Chicago & Southern flew nonstop to New Orleans,
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#17328692812805408-640: The airport and Eastwood Transit Center via the Magnolia Park Transit Center . 73 Bellfort, which runs up to a 12 minute frequency during weekday, runs between the airport and Fannin South Transit Center, connecting to the Metro Rail Red Line. 88 Sagemont runs between the airport and San Jacinto College South Campus. Courtesy vans are operated by various hotels and motels in and around the Houston area. There are courtesy telephones in
5512-631: The airport and in the spring of 1966 was operating nonstop Boeing 707 and Boeing 720 jet service twice a week to Panama City, Panama with connections in Panama to other Braniff flights to South America. Also in 1966, Braniff was operating a joint international service via an interchange agreement with Pan Am to London, England and Frankfurt, Germany on a daily basis with Boeing 707 jetliners via intermediate stops at Dallas Love Field and Chicago O'Hare Airport . Aeronaves de Mexico (now Aeromexico ) served Hobby as well with flights to Mexico and in
5616-510: The airport was renamed after a former Texas governor, William P. Hobby . Besides the Braniff/Pan Am and KLM services to Europe, the airport had other long flights: Braniff was flying nonstop from Hobby to Panama City, Panama with Boeing 707s and Boeing 720s in the late 1960s. Braniff's April 1969 timetable lists nonstop 707 service to Hawaii; however, Braniff flights from Houston to Hawaii didn't actually start until September 1, after
5720-414: The airport, with Southwest operating Boeing 727-200s as well as 737-200s nonstop to Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas Love Field, Harlingen, Lubbock, San Antonio and its first destination outside Texas, New Orleans. Hughes Airwest (owned by Howard Hughes ) was flying nonstop to Las Vegas, Phoenix and Tucson and direct to Burbank (now Bob Hope Airport ) and Orange County (now John Wayne Airport ) while Ozark
5824-485: The approval of Hughes himself, who preferred to keep his own name on the business, and suggested "HRH Properties" (for Hughes Resorts and Hotels, and also his own initials). In 1988 Summa announced plans for Summerlin , a master-planned community named for the paternal grandmother of Howard Hughes, Jean Amelia Summerlin. Initially staying in the Desert Inn , Hughes refused to vacate his room, and instead decided to purchase
5928-503: The area visiting friends. Hughes sustained significant injuries in the crash, including a crushed collar bone , multiple cracked ribs, crushed chest with collapsed left lung, shifting his heart to the right side of the chest cavity, and numerous third-degree burns . An oft-told story said that Hughes sent a check to the Marine weekly for the remainder of his life as a sign of gratitude. Noah Dietrich asserted that Hughes did send Durkin $ 200
6032-452: The baggage claim area. Taxis are available at Curb Zone 2. Lyft and Uber are available at Curb Zone 5. There are several artistic pieces located in and on the William P. Hobby Airport grounds. Artists Paul Kittleson and Carter Ernst created "Take-off," a stainless steel bird's nest showing interwoven branches created using industrial materials. The nest is 30 feet (9.1 m) wide and
6136-468: The baggage claim areas to request pickup for most hotels and motels. Shared-ride shuttle service was available at HOU until 2019 when SuperShuttle (now Transdev ) ceased business, citing competition from ride-sharing services Uber and Lyft . Additionally, regularly scheduled bus and shuttle service is provided by various carriers to locations from HOU to areas outside metropolitan Houston and to Galveston and College Station. These services can be found in
6240-434: The city of Houston and was named Houston Municipal Airport in 1937. The airport was renamed Howard R. Hughes Airport in 1938. Howard Hughes was responsible for several improvements to the airport, including its first control tower, built in 1938. The airport's name changed back to Houston Municipal because Hughes was still alive at the time and regulations did not allow federal improvement funds for an airport named after
6344-439: The company agree to remove the production of the film Jet Pilot from David O. Selznick to Hughes. Hughes produced the film during the years 1949-1950 and owned RKO and in turn the distribution for the film. However, the film was not released until 1957 by Universal Pictures due in part to the subsequent events that would take place at RKO Distribution , and largely due the extra aerial film footage that had been filmed over
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#17328692812806448-486: The discretion of the Houston Airport System. The project is expected to take five years. The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas , or METRO, stops at Curb Zone 3 at the airport. Currently, there are four bus lines that serve Hobby Airport. 40 Telephone/Heights provides local service to Eastwood Transit Center, Downtown, and North Shepard Park and Ride. 50 Broadway also provides service between
6552-469: The entire hotel. Hughes extended his financial empire to include Las Vegas real estate, hotels, and media outlets, spending an estimated $ 300 million, and using his considerable powers to acquire many of the well-known hotels, especially the venues connected with organized crime . He quickly became one of the most powerful men in Las Vegas. He was instrumental in changing the image of Las Vegas from its Wild West and, later, Mafia / organized crime roots into
6656-492: The first airport in Texas to have full biometric entry and exit for passengers who are traveling internationally. In March 2022, Southwest announced a $ 250 million expansion project to add seven gates to Hobby's west concourse. The city of Houston is contributing $ 20 million toward the project. Six of the gates will be used exclusively by Southwest for domestic flights. The seventh new gate will be available for use by other airlines at
6760-552: The first licensed ham-radio operators in Houston, having the assigned callsign W5CY (originally 5CY). At 12, Hughes was photographed for the local newspaper, which identified him as the first boy in Houston to have a "motorized" bicycle, which he had built from parts of his father's steam engine . He was an indifferent student, with a liking for mathematics, flying, and mechanics. He took his first flying lesson at 14, and attended Fessenden School in Massachusetts in 1921. After
6864-467: The first passenger airline terminal in Houston, now houses the 1940 Air Terminal Museum . Hobby became the first 5-Star Airport in North America by Skytrax in 2022. Hobby Airport opened in June 1927 as a private landing field in a 600-acre (240 ha) pasture known as W.T. Carter Field. In the 1930s, it was served by Braniff International Airways and Eastern Air Lines . The site was acquired by
6968-429: The first time. In 1954, Delta, operating as "Delta C&S", was flying a daily Convair 340 Houston – New Orleans – Havana, Cuba – Port au Prince, Haiti – Ciudad Trujillo (now Santo Domingo ), Dominican Republic – San Juan, Puerto Rico . Also in 1954, an expanded terminal building opened to support the 53,640 airline flights that carried 910,047 passengers. The airport was renamed Houston International Airport
7072-552: The first working laser, aircraft computer systems, missile systems, ion-propulsion engines (for space travel), commercial satellites, and other electronics systems. In 1948 Hughes created a new division of Hughes Aircraft: the Hughes Aerospace Group. The Hughes Space and Communications Group and the Hughes Space Systems Division were later spun off in 1948 to form their own divisions and ultimately became
7176-536: The flight to New York continuing on a direct one stop, no change of plane basis to Bermuda . In the fall of 1991, the OAG listed main line flights to Hobby on American Airlines , Delta Air Lines , Northwest Airlines , Trans World Airlines ( TWA ) and United Airlines in addition to Southwest. Other airlines jets at Hobby in the 1980s included Air Florida , Braniff , Eastern Air Lines , Emerald Air (operating independently and also on behalf of Continental Airlines as
7280-552: The flight was 322 mph (518 km/h). The H-1 Racer featured a number of design innovations: it had retractable landing gear (as Boeing Monomail had five years before), and all rivets and joints set flush into the body of the aircraft to reduce drag. The H-1 Racer is thought to have influenced the design of a number of World War II fighters such as the Mitsubishi A6M Zero , Focke-Wulf Fw 190 , and F8F Bearcat , although that has never been reliably confirmed. In 1975
7384-484: The former Texas International maintenance base at Hobby after the merger. In May 2011, Southwest Airlines expressed interest in initiating new international flights from Hobby. On April 9, 2012, Houston Director of Aviation Mario Diaz announced support of international flights from Hobby after multiple studies of the economic impact on the entire city of Houston. On this day Southwest Airlines also debuted its new campaign, called Free Hobby. Supporters are asked to sign
7488-640: The gigantic H-4 Hercules (the Spruce Goose , 1947), the largest flying boat in history with the longest wingspan of any aircraft from the time it was built until 2019. He acquired and expanded Trans World Airlines and later acquired Air West , renaming it Hughes Airwest. Hughes won the Harmon Trophy on two occasions (1936 and 1938), the Collier Trophy (1938), and the Congressional Gold Medal (1939) all for his achievements in aviation throughout
7592-465: The hospital bed specifically to alleviate the pain caused by moving with severe burn injuries. He never used the bed that he designed. Hughes' doctors considered his recovery almost miraculous. Many attribute his long-term dependence on opiates to his use of codeine as a painkiller during his convalescence. Yet Dietrich asserts that Hughes recovered the "hard way—no sleeping pills, no opiates of any kind". The trademark mustache he wore afterward hid
7696-432: The last time in history that an aircraft built by a private individual set the world airspeed record. A year and a half later, on January 19, 1937, flying the same H-1 Racer fitted with longer wings, Hughes set a new transcontinental airspeed record by flying non-stop from Los Angeles to Newark in seven hours, 28 minutes, and 25 seconds (beating his own previous record of nine hours, 27 minutes). His average ground-speed over
7800-749: The limited budgets required to make such films during Hughes' tenure. Hughes reportedly walked away from RKO having made $ 6.5 million in personal profit. According to Noah Dietrich , Hughes made a $ 10,000,000 profit from the sale of the theaters and made a profit of $ 1,000,000 from his 7-year ownership of RKO. According to Noah Dietrich , "Land became a principal asset for the Hughes empire". Hughes acquired 1200 acres in Culver City for Hughes Aircraft, bought 7 sections [4,480 acres] in Tucson for his Falcon missile-plant, and purchased 25,000 acres near Las Vegas. In 1968,
7904-507: The move to IAH. (Hobby's 7600-ft runways would have been too short for 707 nonstop service to Hawaii.) Houston Intercontinental Airport (IAH), now George Bush Intercontinental Airport, opened in June 1969; the airlines moved to Intercontinental and Hobby was left with no scheduled passenger service. The Civil Aeronautics Administration recommended years earlier that Houston plan to replace Hobby. Previously, KLM and Pan American World Airways ( Pan Am ) operated international flights from
8008-643: The movie industry, disrupted studio operations at RKO even further. In 1953, Hughes became involved with a high-profile lawsuit as part of the settlement of the United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. Antitrust Case. As a result of the hearings, the shaky status of RKO became increasingly apparent. A steady stream of lawsuits from RKO's minority shareholders had grown to become extremely annoying to Hughes. They had accused him of financial misconduct and corporate mismanagement. Since Hughes wanted to focus primarily on his aircraft manufacturing and TWA holdings during
8112-415: The production company struggled under his control and ultimately ceased operations in 1957. Through his interest in aviation and aerospace travel, Hughes formed the Hughes Aircraft Company in 1932, hiring numerous engineers, designers, and defense contractors . He spent the rest of the 1930s and much of the 1940s setting multiple world air speed records and building the Hughes H-1 Racer (1935) and
8216-567: The project, thinking it would siphon resources from higher-priority programs, but Hughes' powerful allies in Washington, D.C. advocated it. After disputes, Kaiser withdrew from the project and Hughes elected to continue it as the H-4 Hercules. However, the aircraft was not completed until after World War II. The Hercules was the world's largest flying boat, the largest aircraft made from wood, and, at 319 feet 11 inches (97.51 m), had
8320-404: The rights to pictures that he had personally produced, including those made at RKO. He also retained Jane Russell's contract. For Howard Hughes, this was the virtual end of his 25-year involvement in the motion-picture industry. However, his reputation as a financial wizard emerged unscathed. During that time period, RKO became known as the home of classic film noir productions, thanks in part to
8424-469: The same term This disambiguation page lists articles about airports with the same or similar names. If an internal link referred you to this page, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended airport article, if one exists. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Houston_International_Airport&oldid=479132872 " Category : Airport disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
8528-589: The same year. The April 1957 Official Airline Guide lists 26 weekday departures on Eastern, 20 on Braniff (plus four departures a week to/from South America), nine on Continental Airlines , nine on Delta Air Lines , nine on Trans-Texas Airways , four on National Airlines , two on Pan American World Airways and one on American Airlines . There were nonstops to New York City and Washington D.C., but not to Chicago or Denver or anywhere west of Colorado. Later in 1957, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines started Douglas DC-7C flights to Amsterdam via Montreal . In 1958, Delta
8632-465: The security checkpoint and Southwest Airlines ' check-in counter. Vertical construction was officially completed on October 15, 2015, and Southwest launched international flights that same day. Frontier Airlines announced its entry to the airport with direct flights to Cancun , Las Vegas , and Orlando starting in May 2022. Just two months later Frontier Airlines announced a fourth flight from Hobby with
8736-407: The sole purpose being to connect to the airline's daily Douglas DC-4 "Caribbean Comet" flights between New Orleans and Havana, Cuba; Kingston, Jamaica and Caracas, Venezuela as Chicago & Southern did not then have local traffic rights between Houston and New Orleans. In 1953, Chicago & Southern (C&S) was acquired by and merged into Delta Air Lines , giving Delta access to Houston for
8840-476: The spring of 1968 was operating Douglas DC-9-10 jet service nonstop to Monterrey with continuing, no change of plane service several days a week to Guadalajara and Acapulco . Trans-Texas Airways also served Mexico and in 1968 was operating direct, no change of plane service from Hobby with Convair 600 turboprops eleven times a week to Monterrey and six times a week to Tampico and Veracruz via south Texas. The first airline to resume passenger flights
8944-496: The state of Nevada, he is largely credited with transforming Las Vegas into a more refined cosmopolitan city. After years of mental and physical decline, Hughes died of kidney failure in 1976. His legacy is maintained through the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Howard Hughes Holdings Inc. Howard Robard Hughes Jr. was the only child of Allene Stone Gano (1883–1922) and of Howard R. Hughes Sr. (1869–1924),
9048-407: The terminal expansion began in September 2013. Five new gates (two arrival/departure gates and three arrival only gates) were added to accommodate both Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 family aircraft. The expansion was estimated to have cost $ 156 million and was paid for by Southwest Airlines . The expansion also included constructing a new parking garage as well as a re-organization and expansion of
9152-571: The world's first Convair 880 scheduled passenger flight nonstop to New York City Idlewild Airport from Hobby. Delta would introduce Convair 880 flights nonstop to Chicago O'Hare Airport , St. Louis and New Orleans from Houston in addition to its service to New York City. In June 1961, National Airlines Douglas DC-8s and Continental 707s began flying nonstop to Los Angeles, and National Electras flew nonstop to Las Vegas, San Diego and San Francisco. These were Houston's first nonstops beyond El Paso. In 1963, Continental Vickers Viscounts operated
9256-463: The years after the film's 1950 completion. Hughes was undertaking a final edit before the 1957 release. After his acquisition of RKO, Hughes shut down production at the studio for six months, during which time he ordered investigations into the political leanings of every remaining RKO employee. Only after ensuring that the stars under contract to RKO had no suspect affiliations would Hughes approve completed pictures to be sent back for re-shooting. This
9360-562: The years of the Korean War of 1950 to 1953, Hughes offered to buy out all other RKO stockholders in order to dispense with their distractions . By the end of 1954, Hughes had gained near-total control of RKO at a cost of nearly $ 24 million, becoming the first sole owner of a major Hollywood studio since the silent-film era . Six months later Hughes sold the studio to the General Tire and Rubber Company for $ 25 million. Hughes retained
9464-908: Was Houston Metro Airlines , a commuter airline, which in early 1970 was flying "cross town" service with de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters between Hobby and Houston Intercontinental Airport (IAH) with 14 weekday round trips. Jet airline service resumed on November 14, 1971, when Southwest Airlines operating as an intrastate airline began nonstop Boeing 737-200s to Dallas Love Field (DAL) and San Antonio (Southwest had initially launched service between Intercontinental Airport and Dallas Love Field before serving Hobby). Both Braniff International and Texas International resumed jet service into Hobby with nonstops to Dallas in competition with Southwest. By fall 1979, Braniff and Texas International had ceased serving Hobby, however, two other jet airlines, Hughes Airwest and Ozark Air Lines , had joined Southwest at
9568-408: Was able to arrange for his previous films with United Artists (UA), The Outlaw , Mad Wednesday , and Vendetta to be transferred to RKO. In exchange for the three completed being removed from UA distribution, Hughes and James and Theodore Nasser of General Service Studios would provide the financing of three independent films for distribution by UA. In terms of negotiations directly with RKO,
9672-461: Was acquired by Southwest Airlines ) were at the airport. Muse Air followed by TranStar operated a hub at Hobby flying McDonnell Douglas MD-80s , DC-9-50s and DC-9-30s nonstop to Austin, Brownsville, TX, Dallas Love Field, Las Vegas, Los Angeles ( LAX ), Lubbock, Ontario, CA, McAllen, TX, Miami, Midland/Odessa, New Orleans, Orlando, San Antonio, San Francisco, Tampa and Tulsa with direct service to San Diego and San Jose, CA at various times during
9776-528: Was an American aerospace engineer , business magnate , film producer , investor , philanthropist and aircraft pilot . He was best known during his lifetime as one of the richest and most influential people in the world . He first became prominent as a film producer, and then as an important figure in the aviation industry. Later in life, he became known for his eccentric behavior and reclusive lifestyle—oddities that were caused in part by his worsening obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), chronic pain from
9880-613: Was born on December 24, 1905, in Harris County, Texas . However, his certificate of baptism , recorded on October 7, 1906, in the parish register of St. John's Episcopal Church in Keokuk, Iowa , listed his date of birth as September 24, 1905, without any reference to the place of birth. At a young age, Hughes Jr. showed interest in science and technology. In particular, he had a great engineering aptitude, and built Houston's first "wireless" radio transmitter at age 11. He went on to be one of
9984-467: Was discovered. During and after World War II Hughes turned his company into a major defense contractor. The Hughes Helicopters division started in 1947 when helicopter manufacturer Kellett sold their latest design to Hughes for production. Hughes Aircraft became a major U.S. aerospace- and defense contractor, manufacturing numerous technology-related products that included spacecraft vehicles, military aircraft, radar systems, electro-optical systems,
10088-417: Was especially true of the women under contract to RKO at that time. If Hughes felt that his stars did not properly represent the political views of his liking or if a film's anti-communist politics were not sufficiently clear, he pulled the plug. In 1952, an abortive sale to a Chicago-based five-man syndicate, two of whom had a history of complaints about their business practices and none with any experience in
10192-776: Was flying nonstop to its hub in St. Louis; both airlines flew McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30s . Hughes Airwest was acquired by and merged into Republic Airlines which in 1983 had a focus city operation at Hobby with McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30s , DC-9-50s and MD-80s nonstop to Chicago O'Hare Airport (ORD), Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), Detroit, Las Vegas, Memphis, New Orleans and Phoenix. By 1984, another airline flew nonstop Hobby to St. Louis: Air 1 Boeing 727-100s . A number of commuter airlines were flying from Hobby to smaller cities in Texas and Louisiana, including Chaparral Airlines, Commutair, Eagle Commuter, Hammonds Air Service, Metroplex Airlines and Tejas Airlines. In 1987, Continental Airlines had
10296-531: Was named. They moved to Los Angeles, where he hoped to make a name for himself as a filmmaker. They moved into the Ambassador Hotel , and Hughes proceeded to learn to fly a Waco , while simultaneously producing his first motion picture, Swell Hogan . Hughes enjoyed a highly successful business career beyond engineering, aviation and filmmaking; many of his career endeavors involved varying entrepreneurial roles. Ralph Graves persuaded Hughes to finance
10400-529: Was not released nationally until 1946. The film featured Jane Russell , who received considerable attention from industry censors, this time owing to her revealing costumes. From the 1940s to the late 1950s, the Hughes Tool Company ventured into the film industry when it obtained partial ownership of the RKO companies, which included RKO Pictures, RKO Studios, a chain of movie theaters known as RKO Theatres and
10504-439: Was not serving the airport by the early 1990s although its regional affiliate Continental Express would return with "cross town" turboprop flights to IAH by the mid 1990s followed later by limited Continental mainline jet service. Also in 1987, Pan Am was once again serving Hobby with daily nonstop Boeing 727-200 and Boeing 737-200 service from the airport to Miami, New York JFK Airport and Washington Dulles Airport with
10608-477: Was operating Boeing 737-300s between Hobby and Houston Intercontinental and flying nonstop HOU to its Newark hub. In 2008 the airport handled 8.8 million passengers. Only domestic US destinations and international destinations with border preclearance were being served, but in fall 2015 Southwest opened a new international terminal allowing it to fly to foreign cities. The headquarters for TranStar Airlines (formerly Muse Air before this new start up air carrier
10712-1356: Was operating daily nonstop Douglas DC-7s to New York City and weekly DC-7s direct to Caracas, Venezuela via New Orleans (Delta called this latter service the "El Petrolero") while Eastern Douglas DC-7s and Lockheed Constellations flew nonstop to New York City. Houston's first scheduled jets were Delta Douglas DC-8s nonstop to New York in December 1959 (Cearley says they began on December 1). Braniff International introduced Boeing 707s in April 1960, nonstop to Dallas Love Field and direct to Chicago O'Hare Airport ; Braniff Lockheed L-188 Electra propjets flew nonstop to Chicago Midway Airport and Dallas Love Field, and direct to Denver , Minneapolis/St. Paul , Kansas City and Lubbock . In June 1960, Eastern Airlines Douglas DC-8s flew nonstop to New York City Idlewild Airport and to Atlanta, in addition to Lockheed L-188 Electras nonstop to Washington D.C. National Airport with one-stop Electras to Newark. In July 1960, KLM introduced Douglas DC-8 flights to Amsterdam via Montreal before moving to Houston Intercontinental Airport (now George Bush Intercontinental Airport ), where they remain today with nonstop Boeing 787 flights to Amsterdam. On May 15, 1960, Delta Air Lines operated
10816-704: Was operating flights via interchange agreements with both Pan American World Airways ( Pan Am ) and United Airlines from Hobby. The service with Pan Am flew to London, England and Frankfurt, Germany daily with Boeing 707s via at Dallas Love Field and Chicago O'Hare Airport . The joint operation with United was flown with Boeing 720s twice daily Houston-Dallas-Denver-Seattle and Houston-Dallas-Denver-Portland, OR-Seattle. The same year, Braniff BAC One-Elevens flew nonstop to Dallas Love Field , Fort Worth (via Greater Southwest International Airport ), Tulsa and Corpus Christi and direct to Chicago O'Hare Airport , Minneapolis/St. Paul, St. Louis and Wichita. In 1967,
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