Winter 2005 Regional Approach
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Port Columbus Traffic Rebounds in 2004

For several Port Columbus airlines 2004 marked significant gains in passenger activity resulting in rebounding traffic statistics at the airport.

“During this time when the aviation industry continues to be plagued by high fuel costs and with multiple airlines struggling financially, we’re extremely grateful for the gains the airlines experienced in 2004,” said Elaine Roberts, President & CEO. “While difficult to predict the future, we remain confident in the Columbus market and expect 2005 to be another growth year for our airlines.”

As the largest carrier, Delta Air Lines experienced nearly 9% growth in passenger numbers during 2004. In September Delta declared Port Columbus a “focus city” and announced the addition of three daily Hartford flights and one Orlando flight. As a “focus city,” Columbus has been deemed an important point in the Delta network and ripe for growth.

Meanwhile, Southwest, the second largest carrier at Port Columbus, experienced a 20% increase in passengers. Southwest’s 2004 gains were accomplished by adding significant new capacity with three additional flights to Baltimore and one more to Chicago. In addition, Southwest announced it plans to offer an additional daily Chicago flight in March, making it the airline’s seventh to Chicago and 21st flight overall.

2004 was also a year of growth for United Airlines, which had an 11% increase in passenger numbers. This was due in part to flying fuller planes and increasing frequencies to Chicago, Denver and Washington Dulles.

The growth of these airlines, combined with other key factors, allowed Port Columbus to recover from America West’s 2003 elimination of 45 daily flights. The turnaround began with some airlines immediately adding flights while others later increased service in the Columbus market, resulting in a rebound by the close of 2004.

“We always felt America West made its decision based upon the company’s business need and was not a reflection of the Columbus market,” said Roberts. “The immediate response by the airlines, followed by additional air service enhancements, demonstrates the current strength and future potential of this market.”

Other factors were key to the airport’s turnaround in 2004, including the introduction of the new low-cost airline Independence Air with daily flights to Washington Dulles.

“Not only did the Columbus market benefit from the additional flights to Washington, Independence Air provided connections to major U.S. markets such as Atlanta, New York and Boston which led other carriers to match the lower ticket prices in order to stay competitive,” said David Whitaker, Vice President of Business Development & Communications for the Airport Authority.

Other air service expansion in 2004 included US Airways’ addition of Saturday non-stop flights to Fort Myers and Orlando, as well as American’s addition of one daily flight each to Chicago and St. Louis.

Port Columbus is currently served by 11 airlines and their express affiliates which provide 174 daily flights to 35 airports, resulting in nearly 15,000 seats available each day to destinations across the country.

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