Dec. 31--About $700,000 remains from a $1.5 million revenue guarantee that helped induce American Airlines to relaunch air service from the Jack Brooks Regional Airport to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport last February.
For the first time since the launch of service on Feb. 14, flights in October made a surplus for American. Figures for November aren't yet available.
The agreement with American Eagle, operator of the commercial connector to American Airlines' hub in D-FW, was to provide service for at least two years and to allow the airline to draw from the revenue guarantee each month if its ticketed sales were insufficient to cover its cost of operations.
American's stay in Southeast Texas likely will exceed two years, even if the revenue guarantee is exhausted.
In October, the state of Texas agreed to drop objections to American's proposed merger with U.S. Airways in exchange for keeping the carrier's hub at D-FW and preserving service at 22 other Texas airports, including Jack Brooks.
The merger was concluded earlier this month, and the agreement is legally binding for three years from that date, meaning Southeast Texas will have air service through at least 2016.
The Coalition for Air Service said that in 2013, an average round-trip traveler departing Jack Brooks Regional Airport saved about $36 per trip, based on an average of three travel days and $12 per day parking charge, compared to driving to Houston to begin air travel there.
"With a little over 31,000 departing passengers, local travelers have saved over $1,116,000 in parking fees," said Jim Rich, coalition president.
For 2013, more passengers have traveled out of Jack Brooks Regional Terminal than the previous three years combined, said airport manager Alex Rupp.
Because the airport has had more than 10,000 passengers departing, the airport is eligible for $1 million in FAA grant funding.
The airline has gone from a monthly average "load factor" -- percentage of seats filled -- of 46 percent in February up to about 78 percent for November.
Of 2,144 scheduled flights, 76, or 3.5 percent, have been canceled.
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Copyright 2013 - The Beaumont Enterprise, Texas
