Airport Check-in: Flier Traffic Falls at Most U.S. Airports
 Roger Yu - USA Today
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March 15, 2010
| | The tech industry helped San Francisco International increase flier traffic in 2009. (Alain McLaughlin) | |
New government data confirm yet again that 2009 was a year that airports would rather forget.
Of the 50 largest airports in the U.S., only four showed growth in passenger traffic last year amid the global recession, according to the Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Its data include domestic and international flights handled by U.S. airlines but not foreign carriers.
San Francisco International was the only airport in the top 20 to eke out an increase in 2009. Its traffic ticked up slightly to 16 million from 15.8 million in 2008, as low-cost carriers, including Virgin America, Southwest and JetBlue, expanded service there. Its largest tenant, United Airlines, which has 40% of the share, also added more flights from SFO.
SFO was buoyed by tech industry customers but also benefited from carriers consolidating their Bay Area operations there, says spokesman Mike McCarron.
"They're getting more bang for the buck at SFO," he says. Five years ago, the airport's share of Bay Area air traffic was about 53%. Now it's 68%, he says.
The DOT's data support McCarron's claims. Oakland International's passenger traffic fell a steep 17.1% last year.
Among the top 50 airports, only Cincinnati — where dominant carrier Delta massively cut service last year — fared worse.
San Jose International, despite its proximity to Silicon Valley, saw its traffic drop 14.3%, the third-worst decline after Cincinnati and Oakland. In 2009, JetBlue pulled all but one flight from San Jose.
Southwest left SFO in 2000 to consolidate at Oakland but returned three years ago and now has more flights from SFO than it did in 2000.
The DOT's data showed that air traffic closely mirrors regional economic conditions.
Detroit Metro, serving the embattled auto industry, was the only large international gateway airport to report a double-digit decline, at 10.1%. Las Vegas, where traffic was down 7.8%, was another laggard.
Apart from SFO, the three other airports in the top 50 that reported growth in 2009 — Baltimore/Washington, Chicago Midway and Milwaukee — all share a common trait: healthy competition among low-cost carriers.
In 2009, 704 million domestic and international passengers flew on U.S. airlines, down 5.3% from the previous year.
Step 'n Wash, an Atlanta-based company that makes retracting steps used by toddlers to reach the sink in airport restrooms, has more customers. After years of testing the product, Atlanta Hartsfield "has almost completed" installing it in all 72 restrooms, says Paul Sumpton of Step 'n Wash.
Salt Lake City, Orlando, Tallahassee, Cincinnati, Boston Logan, Seattle-Tacoma and Raleigh-Durham have recently started using or testing them.
US Airways will begin year-round service between its largest hub, Charlotte, to both Puerto Vallarta and Los Cabos in Mexico starting June 5.
Meanwhile, its feeder carrier, US Airways Express, will begin daily, year-round service between Charlotte and Ottawa on May 31. |
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