Who Owns FlyHobbs?

Lea County Regional Airport sits about five miles west of Hobbs on US Highway 180 and has hosted commercial air service for decades, with service levels rising and falling alongside the oil and gas economy of the Permian Basin. Hobbs is one of the principal cities of Lea County, a major oil-producing county in southeast New Mexico, and business demand for air links to Houston and Denver has long outstripped what a small regional market would normally sustain.

FlyHobbs was created by the county, the city, and the local economic development corporation as a promotional umbrella for that service. Rather than relying on the airlines' own marketing, which is minimal for small regional stations, the campaign maintains its own website, publishes schedules, answers consumer questions, and runs events designed to keep ridership strong enough to retain and expand routes.

United Express, operated for United Airlines by regional partners, has been the scheduled backbone, flying daily from Hobbs to Denver and Houston Intercontinental, the latter connecting passengers into United's largest hub network. Schedule frequency has varied with demand and with industry-wide regional pilot shortages.

The most notable recent development was the August 2025 launch of JSX service to Dallas Love Field. JSX operates 30-seat Embraer jets on public charter schedules with a private-terminal boarding model, giving Hobbs a second market and a premium-feel alternative to the United service. FlyHobbs promoted the launch through its channels.

The campaign's annual Aviation Day and Fly-In, held at the airport, brings private and military aircraft displays, local businesses, and food vendors to the field and functions as both community event and advocacy for the airport.

The campaign's practical work is easy to underestimate but consequential for a small airport. FlyHobbs maintains its own website with current schedules for both carriers, answers consumer questions about connections and booking, promotes new service launches like the 2025 JSX route, and organizes community events that keep the airport visible to residents who might otherwise default to driving to Lubbock or Midland.

This kind of public air service marketing is a recognized tool in US regional aviation. Small communities lose flights when passengers book out of larger airports, which creates a feedback loop of falling ridership and further cuts. A funded local campaign interrupts that loop by keeping the local option in front of the people most likely to use it.