energy crisis survivor:
any airport u.s.a.
p
by Jeff Price
erhaps the next edition of the TV show “Survivor” should be at an airport in the United States. With volatile fuel prices, airport operators have seen airlines pull out, budgets slashed and revenue margins tumble. The aviation industry has hit an oil slick and, despite recent drops in fuel costs, much of the damage already is done. A recent Wall Street Journal article quoted the International Air Transport Association as predicting that the world’s airlines could lose up to $6.1 billion in 2008 due to rising fuel costs. According to a survey conducted for this article, which generated 68 responses, airline losses are translating into losses in airport revenue. Non-hub commercial service and general aviation airports comprise the majority of airports in the U.S. More than 70 percent of the airports that responded to the survey represent those facilities. Ten percent of the respondents were from small hub airports and the remaining respondents represented medium and large hub airports. Of the responding airports, more than 52 percent reported a decrease in the number of enplanements at their facilities this year. Twenty-six percent reported no change. Twenty percent reported an increase in enplanements during 2008, but several airports said they expect these enplanements to decline by this fall. One airport that has experienced an increase in enplanements is Arizona’s Yuma International. Yuma is a small hub airport that has experienced a 5 percent increase in enplanements this year. Airport Director Craig Williams said that fuel costs have had little to no impact on the airport so far. The airport has three commercial airlines using regional jets (RJs) to provide service to Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Las Vegas, but Williams said that new turboprops, such as the Bombadier Q400, are what’s needed to survive in the future. “Regional jets are out because they are too expensive to operate,” Williams said. “The current level-off in the fuel price escalation will be short-lived. Airlines across the nation are dropping routes because the RJ can’t operate
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economically” he said. An airport that is benefitting from turboprops is Colorado Springs Airport, a small hub about two hours south of Denver. The Rocky Mountain News recently reported that, while Colorado Springs is bracing for a 15.8 percent loss in available seats due to airline route cuts, Frontier Airlines has added five daily roundtrip flights between Denver and Colorado Springs using the Q400. According to the survey, operations at airports are also down considerably, with nearly 80 percent of the airports reporting a decrease in operations. The average decrease was between 10 percent and 20 percent, with some airports reporting a downturn in operations of 35 percent to 50 percent. The future doesn’t look very bright either, according to the respondents. More than 75 percent of respondents said they believe that fuel prices are going to continue to rise (30 percent) or level off (45 percent). Even with the presidential election on the horizon, 56 percent said that the election would not have an impact on fuel prices. Many airports reported that airlines have ended service to their airport, cut back flights, or, in some cases,