Augusta Passengers Are Getting Their Wish: Fares Are Lower

The difference between a fad and a trend may just be the number of people who jump on board.

Right now, the trend at Augusta Regional Airport's Bush Field is that more people are jumping on board.

The reason: fares are down and service is up.

Consider Walter Sprouse.

Now, as the executive director of the Development Authority of Richmond County, he's supposed to boost the team. But every man has his limit, and Sprouse hates spending a dollar more than he has to.

But he has found in recent months that it pays to fly out of Augusta.

He booked one upcoming trip to Boston for $268 out of Augusta, cheaper than the $350-plus out of Columbia.

For a trip to Williamsburg, Va., he would spend $369 out of Augusta, $472 out of Columbia.

To go to LaGuardia in New York from Augusta was $212, compared with $216 out of Atlanta; to go to Kansas City from Augusta was $314 - less than out of Columbia, more than the $288 out of Atlanta (though perhaps not enough of a difference to drive to Atlanta).

"Hard facts. Definite numbers," Sprouse says.

Likewise, the Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce is supposed to lead cheers for the town - but has felt forced by fares and schedules in recent years to fly out of Columbia instead of Augusta for the chamber's annual trip to Washington, D.C. Not this year: The chamber's delegation of some 45 area leaders from three counties (and four chambers) will leave Bush Field May 2.

"We reviewed several flight options," says Augusta chamber President/CEO Sue Parr, "and found that we were able to secure flights out of Augusta Regional Airport which would allow all of our delegation to fly out on one plane at a very competitive rate.

"As chambers of commerce, we wanted to ensure that we had exhausted all of the options before making any final decisions. We reviewed options from other airports and airlines, and were particularly pleased that we could accommodate our whole delegation on one plane at a price that was within our budget."

"All in all, we are excited with the trends," says Augusta Regional spokeswoman Diane Johnston. "The reliability is much improved, the fares are lower than ever, and the enplanements are increasing. All very positive for our community."

Of course, as they say, results may vary. Sometimes it's cheaper or marginally more expensive to fly out of Augusta, sometimes not. The lesson is: Check Augusta first.

As of March, air fare from Augusta to Dallas was cheaper than from Columbia or Atlanta; fare from Augusta to Washington, D.C., was cheaper than from Columbia and only $105 more than Atlanta.

As for service, on-time performance out of Augusta for both Delta/ASA (83 percent) and US Airways (88 percent) is better than the national average (70 percent). Completion rates are a shade below the national average of 96.5 percent, but that's to be expected at a regional airport.

The main thing is the trend in performance: upward. And as on-time and completion rates have improved over all, so have enplanements - the number of passengers - which are up in each of the first three months of this year over last.

And the more people who get on board, the better the trend will get.

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