United Airlines to test flight from Santa Fe to Houston in spring

United Airlines will begin testing a flight from Santa Fe to Houston starting in March to see if the route could be viable. The flight will be once a week on Saturdays, and if it proves popular, it could expand into a permanent route with more travel days, said Santa Fe Regional Airport Director James Harris. There is currently one Texas-bound flight out of Santa Fe — to Dallas — along with flights to Phoenix and Denver. United operates the Denver route. Harris said officials from the airline reached out to him about the test flight and said they had been interested in a route from Santa Fe to Houston for a while. The route would cut the travel time between the two cities from a 12-plus hour drive to a two-hour direct flight. The flight will launch after the completion of the Santa Fe airport’s terminal expansion project, which Harris said is on track to be done by the end of January after the need for additional repairs to underground infrastructure pushed back the date several times.<br/>