PIA Reports March 2018 Passengers
Peoria Int'l Airport posted an all-time record for passenger traffic last month.
Ski season and spring break makes March a typically busy month for the local airport and that trend continued in 2018. Last month, 62,645 passengers passed through PIA's gates. The prior record, 61,199, was achieved just last year.
According to airport Director Gene Olson, in a press release posted today,
"...Allegiant, which flies nonstop to six leisure destinations from PIA, saw their numbers up more than 15 percent over last March."
According to airport Director Gene Olson, in a press release posted today,
"...Allegiant, which flies nonstop to six leisure destinations from PIA, saw their numbers up more than 15 percent over last March."
Perhaps Springfield's loss of Orlando-Sanford flights at the start of 2018 helped Peoria? Good business should continue when Destin/Fort Walton Beach nonstops resume May 2.
Also in today's press release,
Although PIA had its third busiest year in 2017, a recent market analysis showed the airport captures just 58 percent of the air travel within a 25- to 40-mile radius. Of the 42 percent choosing another airport, 33 percent of those are choosing O'Hare International Airport, according to the study.
Although PIA had its third busiest year in 2017, a recent market analysis showed the airport captures just 58 percent of the air travel within a 25- to 40-mile radius. Of the 42 percent choosing another airport, 33 percent of those are choosing O'Hare International Airport, according to the study.
Here's something to ponder: PIA handled 635,003 passengers in 2017, but if it captured 100 percent of air travelers living within a 25- to 40-mile radius, the figure would have been nearly 1.1 million! Even if PIA captured 75 percent of those travelers, annual passenger traffic would easily exceed 800,000.
If spread evenly among existing carriers, such figures would most certainly require Delta Connection to place larger jets (CRJ900s) on its three Peoria-Atlanta roundtrips, American Eagle to add a third daily Peoria-Dallas/Ft. Worth roundtrip (also on a CRJ900) and prompt United Express to resume one daily Peoria-Denver roundtrip (probably using a CRJ200 for now).
This growth would come at the expense of Bloomington-Normal, however, and I'd say Allegiant Air would have to abandon that city's airport and add at least a couple of weekly nonstops from Peoria to St. Petersburg/Clearwater and Orlando-Sanford.
If spread evenly among existing carriers, such figures would most certainly require Delta Connection to place larger jets (CRJ900s) on its three Peoria-Atlanta roundtrips, American Eagle to add a third daily Peoria-Dallas/Ft. Worth roundtrip (also on a CRJ900) and prompt United Express to resume one daily Peoria-Denver roundtrip (probably using a CRJ200 for now).
This growth would come at the expense of Bloomington-Normal, however, and I'd say Allegiant Air would have to abandon that city's airport and add at least a couple of weekly nonstops from Peoria to St. Petersburg/Clearwater and Orlando-Sanford.
- David P. Jordan
Hello David. Seems like Allegiant accounts for about 1/3 of all traffic based on the tv interview that happened earlier this week with Gene Olson. Do you know how Allegiant's capacity compares to the overall capacity? Was just curious how that all looks. It seems like 1/3 of overall traffic is a very good number but if they ever reduce flights PIA would suffer for sure.
ReplyDeleteHi Mike,
DeleteOne-third of 2017 traffic would be 211,667 passengers. There are too many variables such as flight frequency and aircraft type to compare Allegiant's capacity and that of the others. But it has been said that Allegiant Air requires a high load factor to maintain its routes (something around or close to 90 percent), so you can bet flights out of Peoria are full or almost full.
That Allegiant Air handles 200,000+ passengers per year out of PIA tells me that this carrier alone is responsible for this facility's growth since 2005. A record 550,000 passengers passed through PIA in 1978. Between 1979 and 2004, PIA could barely top 450,000 passengers, and figures sometimes dipped well below 400,000 (1982 and 2003). Now we've topped 600,000 four years in a row.
Should Allegiant Air go out of business, another carrier will fill the void, but whether PIA regains service now offered is anyone's guess.
Hello,
ReplyDeleteLooking at PIA Delta connection schedule, from November 4th until the 26th, CRJ 900 will be on all ATL and DTW flights out of PIA. This is only for this time looking further ahead results in back to CRJ200 only. Possibly a trial run?
That's interesting. I check periodically, but haven't in a few months. I would concur that this is a trial run. The CRJ200 fleet is being reduced and competition with American Eagle's Charlotte hub probably requires an upgrade such as this to retain passengers.
DeleteWith record volumes, don't you think it's time to start eliminating the local property tax subsidies for the airport?
ReplyDeletePerhaps, but every other airport in the region would have to do so or PIA puts itself at a disadvantage.
Delete