MANCHESTER, N.H. — Overall passenger traffic at Manchester Boston-Regional Airport fell 7.5 percent from January through April compared to the first four months of 2011. The year-over-year decline for the month of April was even sharper at 15.2 percent.
For the first four months of the year, 760,105 passengers arrived or departed versus 821,733 for the same period a year ago.
Loss of four flights a day on Southwest between Manchester and Philadelphia beginning in January accounts for most of the decline, Deputy Airport Director J. Brian O’Neill said.
“Those four flights were operated in 137-seat aircraft, and I think the decrease in passenger activity is a direct result of not having those four flights in 2012 but having those four Philadelphia flights in 2011,” he said.
O’Neill said Southwest also cut Philadelphia service from Boston and Providence on Jan. 7, 2012. The airport had extraordinary growth in the 1990s as an alternative to Boston’s Logan Airport, adding service from low-cost airlines such as Southwest. It surpassed 2 million passengers for the first time in 1999.
“After several years of passenger declines, we are hopeful that we are now establishing a new baseline and as the economy improves and the price of oil stabilizes, we hope that we’ll turn the corner and start to see slow, steady growth again,” he said.
“There are so many factors in the airline industry that are unfortunately outside of the airport’s control,” O’Neill said.
(c)2012 The New Hampshire Union Leader (Manchester, N.H.)
Distributed by MCT Information Services
Has the industry noticed a decline in people’s discretionary incomes? More for gasoline to get there, more for tickets after we arrive, more for luggage, inconvenience and humiliation at boarding, less money to spend on arrival??? Maybe none of these?
I think you’re right. A lot of people used to drive down from the Bangor area and even further north. Now with the price of gas to get there, lodging for a night or two and the 4 hour trip each way it is cheaper to go out of Bangor or Portland.
I think I recall hearing SW was expanding to Portland(?). If so, that would be a drop right there. I’ll have to check SW’s site.
I think SW had planned on moving in but with their merger with AirTran they will just take over their flights and that’s it.
Southwest has just about completed the tasks necessary to convert the AirTran flights at Portland. It will be more than a takeover–the flights will now be timed to the banks of flights at Southwest’s East Coast “superhub” @ BWI (Baltimore Washington). From there you can continue on another SWA flight to just about anywhere. I am assured by my friends at SWA/LUV that the drive to Portland for the service will be more than worth it.
SWA will be adding flights this fall with daily to MCO, DIA, MDW, BWI, seasonal to FLL and Tampa
Yes, I noticed I was switched over to AirTran once I selected a PWM flight. Thanks for the update.
And don’t forget the cost of parking! It’s often higher than the plane fare.
Do they strip search you when you enter the garage?
Don’t give them any ideas! (lol)
Oooops! My bad…
PWM has expanded with a whole new terminal wing that opened in October 2011… Coincidence???
I think you will find that the MHT airport director is correct – the correlation between the cancelled flights and the pax reduction is spot on.
Excluding cargo, all stats are showing a 1% to 2% increase in passenger traffic for 2012 vs. 2011.
Airfare increased more than 8% between 2010 and 2011 – the increase thus far for 2012 is about 8.3 percent as well. The average nationwide price of a ticket is about $364.
Carriers nationwide have reduced the number of daily flights (about 1%) and increased their load factors (just shy of 82%) to find that elusive sweet spot – profit.
TOO BAD THAT MANCHESTER DIDN’T GET TO FLY FROM THERE NON-STOP TO ALBANIA AS WAS ONCE THOUGHT TO BE AN INGENIOUS WAY OF INCREASING TRAFFIC. MAYBE PORTLAND OR EVEN BANGOR COULD LOOK INTO THIS.
Manchester used to be comparably cheap to fly out of… now Portland ticket prices are pretty competitive. Travelers are shifting to Providence and Portland as a result.
The Manchester airport is very easy to bring someone to or pick someone up from. A family member flew into Manchester last month at a much lower cost than flying into Portland or Bangor. Our expenses to and from Manchester, staying overnight, and the cost of the ticket added up to less than the ticket to Bangor. It was worth it to us to use the Manchester airport.
The pie is only so big and this is an industry where growth mostly comes from taking customers from another airport. That happened to Portland when Manchester opened. Now the tables are turned on Manchester. That how it goes.