WARWICK – Passenger traffic at T.F. Green Airport (PVD) fell 6.5 percent last year, hit by “volatile fuel prices and a floundering economy,” the R.I. Airport Corporation said in its monthly report for December. Cargo traffic at the airport fell by nearly a third, as both freight and mail shipments declined.
“The airline industry is experiencing the effects of a struggling economy coupled with the high cost of jet fuel,” Kevin A. Dillon, RIAC’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “While other airports across the country have seen double-digit losses, we feel somewhat fortunate to have experienced a less-severe drop in activity.”
During all of 2008, more than 4.69 million passengers passed through the airport, 326,368 fewer than the year before, when passenger traffic neared 5.02 million. The number of passengers boarding planes at T.F. Green fell to 2.35 million, a decline of 156,147 from 2007’s total of 2.51 million.
Passenger traffic at T.F. Green last year lagged year-ago levels in every month but February. But the gap narrowed in December, when the airport posted a passenger total of 339,319, down 4.32 percent from the year-ago 354,641. Passengers enplaned at T.F. Green fell to 172,106 last month, down 2.87 percent from the year-ago 177,188.
Air carriers have responded to this year’s “challenges” by using smaller aircraft on many routes, or reducing the frequency of flights, leaving fewer seats available, RIAC said. American Eagle – a regional feeder airline associated with American Airlines Inc. – last year terminated its service at T.F. Green and several other hubs. (READ MORE)
But, RIAC noted, “other airlines fared better.”
Southwest Airlines – the largest carrier by local passenger volume – expanded its schedule, adding a second daily round trip to Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The market leader posted the airport’s third-best results for all of 2008, seeing local passenger traffic fall only 1.59 percent compared with a year ago, although its December passenger tally fell 7.94 percent.
US Airways – the airport’s second-largest carrier – saw a 1.3-percent decline in local passenger traffic last year, but posted a December gain of 7.58 percent that was its largest ever. (Together, Southwest and US Air accounted for 73 percent of passengers at T.F. Green in 2008, RIAC said.)
And Continental Airlines had the year’s best results at T.F. Green, seeing its full-year passenger total rise 3.48 percent while its December total rose 12.79 percent.
Meanwhile, total cargo shipments through T.F. Green plunged to 30.44 million pounds last year, down 30.68 percent from the 2007 total of 43.92 million pounds. Freight shipments led the decline, falling 35.68 percent to 23.23 million pounds, while mail shipments through the airport fell 6.5 percent to 7.21 million pounds.
December cargo shipments amounted to 2.52 million pounds, a 31.13-percent decline from the airport’s 2007 total of 3.66 million pounds. Freight shipments last month dropped 45.88 percent compared with a year ago to 1.41 million pounds, while December mail shipments fell 15.73 percent to 1.11 million pounds.
“Although we are faced with tough times in our industry, Green will continue to move forward with our improvement projects to be well-positioned when the economy rebounds,” Dillon said. “We remain encouraged by the cooperative assistance of our business community, tourism and [Convention & Visitors Bureau] partners, who provide critical support to our efforts in attracting new service to our airport.”
The R.I. Airport Corporation is a quasi-public organization, based at T.F. Green Airport in Warwick, that oversees Green and the state’s five general aviation airports. Additional information is available from RIAC at www.pvdairport.com.
