Originally Posted by ginandtacos.com
I can't imagine there's really much demand for Harlingen. Except for one week a year when they ferry some drunken college kids to South Padre.
Having lived in Phoenix for a while, I also think Tucson is pretty superfluous. Lubbock and Amarillo also seem like pretty lame destinations.
Mind you, I'm sure that every one of these cities have plenty of flyers who consider the service very important. I'm just talking about "useless" destinations in the sense that neither business nor leisure travelers who do not live in the city are likely to use it.
Most HRL flights go through DAL and HOU first so half the passengers are from DAL/remainder HOU. Many million dollar condos owned down there by US and Mexican citizens. If you don't book ahead for the weekend don't even try to get on. Also HRL pulls from Harlingen, Brownsville, McAllen. Also don't forget Mexico. Many passengers come from Matamores and other nearby Mexican towns.
As one who lived in a border town ELP, I can tell you that I used to fly out of Ciudad Juarez if I was flying within Mexico.
One other thought is many of the "usesless" cities as you so call have Southwest as the largest carrier. Of the 61 cities Southwest serves maybe in ten they are not the largest carrier