July 24--The Peninsula Airport Commission on Thursday might have heard the last negative passenger counts of the year for the Newport News-Williamsburg International Airport, according to marketing director Jessica Wharton.
The facility served more than 500,000 passengers annually before AirTran Airlines merged with Southwest Airlines and pulled out in 2012. That move and airline companies' efforts to reduce the number of seats on flights have meant dwindling numbers in the airport's monthly activity reports.
But low-cost air company People Express began service on June 30, with daily flights to Newark, Boston and Pittsburgh, with plans to add more destinations over the next two months, including Atlanta, New Orleans, West Palm Beach, Fla., and Clearwater, Fla. The airline leases Boeing 737s that seat 150 passengers for its flights.
The People Express passenger counts were not included in the May and June activity reports.
Wharton said passenger totals were down 5.9 percent in June compared to 2013, and off 13.3 percent for the past 12 months compared to the same time the year earlier. In June, the airport had 45,280 passengers. Over the past 12 months, it has seen 502,416, compared to 579,308 the year prior.
That was an improvement over May, when passenger totals for the four airlines and charter operations that use the facility were down 17 percent over the same month in 2013.
Wharton noted that Norfolk International Airport also posted a drop in passengers in June, down about 7.4 percent over the prior year, while Richmond International Airport posted a 5 percent gain.
"I expect that those numbers will be even better with People Express flights," Wharton told the commission. "I think we're going to climb our way out of the negative passenger numbers."
While Delta Airlines and US Airways posted lower passenger totals in June over the same month in 2013, both Frontier and Allegiant airlines had double digit gains, with Frontier up 12 percent and Allegiant up 19 percent.
Wharton and Airport Director Ken Spirito said the lower passenger totals for Delta and US Airways were due to fewer seats on flights out of the facility. The activity report notes the number of seats is down more than 100,000 from the 12 months ending in June 2013 compared to the same time period ending last month, from 390,330 to 288,495.
Spirito noted that Allegiant will end service to Sanford-Orlando, Fla., in August, despite higher passenger numbers. The airline had almost 500 more passengers in June than the same month last year.
"They told us they think the market is not there. However, they brought in larger airplanes and they're full," Spirito said. "It doesn't really hold to the argument that the Orlando market is not here for them to capture."
But Allegiant officials also said in interviews after announcing their departure that rising airport costs was another reason they were pulling out of Newport News.
Melissa Cheaney, assistant airport director, said since People Express flights began, "the increased passenger flow is almost double" previous volume. The airport has not hired more personnel, but it has increased hours in a few departments, she said. "They are handling it well," she said.
Cheaney said one of the biggest worries was how the airport would handle the increased baggage volume with People Express flights. So far, there have been no problems. Cheaney said passenger luggage is arriving on the terminal's carousels within 10 minutes of a plane's arrival.
The airport might see a greater bump in passenger numbers, according to Spirito. U.S. Airways is adjusting its schedule and will fly Bombardier CRJ9 planes with 90 seats, "one of the largest planes in the market," as well as the smaller 70-seat CR7s.
"We're seeing some more capacity put into this market," Spirito said. "I hope this is a sign that they are in the market to stay."
Copyright 2014 - Daily Press (Newport News, Va.)
