Fort Smith enplanements up in January

So far, so good. Maybe.

January enplanements at the Fort Smith Regional Airport totaled 5,496, up 0.8% over January 2009.

However, comparisons with 2009 should come with a caveat that total 2009 enplanements at Fort Smith reached a low not seen since 1986. Also, the January 2010 enplanements are 20.3% below the 6,896 enplanements in January 2008.

Enplanements in 2009 at the airport totaled 78,432, down 9.8% from the 87,030 enplanements in 2008. Passenger enplanements at the Fort Smith Regional Airport totaled 87,030 in 2008, down 12.2% from the 99,127 enplanements in 2007. The 2008 traffic total was the lowest at the airport in the past 10 years.

American Eagle — the primary commercial airline operating out of Fort Smith — reported that its January 2010 boardings were 1.18 million, up 10.4% from January 2009.

The Fort Smith Regional Airport lost in June 2009 its direct Delta connection to the Atlanta airport. The loss is a result of the acquisition of Northwest Airlines by Delta. American Eagle Airlines operates five flights a day — all connecting to Dallas-Fort Worth — out of Fort Smith. Delta/Northwest has three flights a day to Memphis.

Dips in enplanements in Fort Smith were part of a national trend in 2009. According to the Air Transport Association, passenger revenue declined 18% in 2009 compared to 2008 as a result of a 6% drop in passenger volume and a 13% drop in the average price paid to fly one mile. The decline in passenger revenue from 2008 to 2009 is the largest on record, exceeding the 14 percent decline observed from 2000 to 2001.

ATA officials are hopeful the worst is over.

“The global recession, accompanied by high levels of unemployment, hit air travel demand especially hard in 2009 but the declines appear to be bottoming out. Anecdotal evidence suggests a positive revenue trajectory in 2010,” ATA President and CEO James C. May said in a Jan. 20 press statement.