Quote:
Originally Posted by Steely Dan
I don't think proximity to Chicago is a major factor here. Detroit is even closer to Chicago than St. Louis is and DTW is large hub for Delta, and while its international routes aren't quite as expansive as ORD's, DTW still has nonstops to 5 destinations in Asia, 5 in Europe, and 1 in the middle east.
It's a size issue. If St. Louis anchored a CSA of 5M+ people like Detroit does, it'd have a bigger busier airport.
|
Lambert did well enough when it was TWA's hub, especially after TWA acquired the smaller Ozark Airlines in the 1980s which had already been using St. Louis as its hub. The trouble is that soon after the AA merger, it became clear that AA didn't need St. Louis since O'Hare remained its Midwestern hub. AA is now a distant second in terms of carriers at Lambert, with Southwest by far being the biggest carrier here.
Additionally in 2019 (not using 2020 due to Covid), Lambert had just under 16 million passengers pass through. That's well below the numbers it was pulling in the 1980s and 90s with TWA, and far below its 30 million peak at the turn of the millennium.
At this point, the airport is actually under used. There's plenty of gates that aren't open, although Southwest's service has lead to some being rehabbed and reopened. There's also MidAmerica Airport over in St. Clair County, IL which sits vastly underused. It was built in the 90s to be a release valve for the congest Lambert, but that obviously stopped being a problem after TWA went under.
If an airline ever wants to expand service and or add a hub, Lambert could certainly step up to the plate without stepping on the toes of the current providers.