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The Airport Report

Section: Community

Sean C. Hunter

The Airport Report
By Sean C. Hunter
Director of Aviation
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport

GOOD NEWS ABOUT AIR SERVICE

The return of air service to our community continues to be a major indicator of how well the recovery from Hurricane Katrina in our region is going. For example, in 2007 Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport served 7,516,533 passengers or 77% of the all time high of 9,733,179 passengers who used Armstrong International Airport in 2004. December’s passengers totaled 620,356 or 81% of the 763,162 passengers that used the airport in December 2004 and an increase of 7% from December 2006. The growth over 2006 was 20.9%. Armstrong International Airport continues to show tremendous strides as the growth of passengers and flights rebuild. Air carrier flight operations for the year totaled 85,885 commercial flight operations, compared to 72,338 in 2006 for an increase of 18.8%. The number of flight operations grew throughout 2007 ending with 132 daily passenger departures in December.

And the good news continues. The NBA All-Star Game last month resulted in another post-Katrina record day for our airport. Reports from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) on the total number of people who were processed through security after the All-Star Game resulted in the third largest number of post-storm passengers this year. The top five numbers since the storm have occurred in the past two months with the Sugar Bowl, BCS Championship Game, Mardi Gras and the NBA All-Star Game respectively. New Orleans was given a chance to show it is back and it did so in a big way. This was a great beginning to 2008 and we want to keep the momentum going. After experiencing 21% growth in 2007, to see 2008 begin this way is a great indicator that the upward trend will go on.

This return in air service has not happened by chance. As I have stated in previous articles, the return of the airport is an ongoing team effort. That said, none of this would be possible without the willingness of the airlines to resume and grow service. Still advancing toward pre-K numbers, Southwest Airlines remains the volume leader in New Orleans with 25.4% of the market, down from 31% in 2004. Continental Airlines, the first carrier to resume a full schedule following Hurricane Katrina, captured 15.1%. American Airlines and AirTran Airways, who also operate a full schedule, captured 15.2% and 4.4% of the market respectively. Delta Air Lines has12.39%; United Airlines 9.0%; US Airways 9.2%; Northwest Airlines 4.6%; and JetBlue Airways with 2.4% of the market. Newcomer ExpressJet Airlines has captured 2.1% of the market for 2007, after entering the market in April.

Airport vendors have also been major contributors to our return. Travelers must have opportunitiesto eat and purchase personal items. To accommodate special event crowds this year, a number of vendors have operated additional hours with extra staff. The commitment of extra time and resources has been rewarding for them. The Hudson Group, the airport’s master concessionaire for news and giftsl, reported a day of record sales from the NBA All-Star crowd. Sales in Hudson’s newly remodeled store, near Concourses A and B, exceeded pre-Katrina sales as the All-Star fans collected New Orleans souvenirs before boarding flights home.

It is my hope that any question regarding our region’s ability to host major special events and conventions has been put to rest. With the success of the last month’s NBA All-Star Game, the signature event for the NBA, the international community has now seen that our region is ready to welcome visitors from around the world. For further information on Armstrong International Airport, log on to the Airport’s web site at www.flymsy.com. Sean Hunter can be reached at www.flymsy.com.

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