Fort Smith airport traffic up 17.5% in August; up 4.4% year-to-date

If the level of airline travel is indeed an indicator of economic health, then August brought good news for the Fort Smith regional economy.

August saw 7,051 enplanements in Fort Smith, up 17.57% over the 5,997 in August 2009. The August traffic followed an 8.68% gain in July,  and an 8.6% increase in June. Enplanements total 56,371 for the first eight months of 2010, up 4.4% from the 53,980 for the same period in 2009.

Delta reported a 2.6% dip in regional system traffic in August, with comparable traffic(16.833 million enplanements) down 1.6% for the first eight months of 2010. American Eagle reported enplanements of 1.427 million in August, virtually unchanged compared to August 2009. Year-to-date, American Eagle enplanements are up 0.8%.

Traffic at the regional airport has seen two years of consecutive dips. Enplanements in 2009 at the Fort Smith 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 2009 traffic total was the lowest at the airport in the past 10 years.

Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport (XNA) is also recovering from two years of consecutive declines. For the first seven months of 2010 (XNA had not reported August traffic as of Sept. 8), the airport had 327,440 enplanements, up 4.75% over the 312,569 in the 2009 period.

Approximately 1% fewer passengers traveled on U.S. airlines in July, although an estimate of passenger revenue increased 20%, according to the Air Transport Association. The head of the airline trade association is cautious.

“Demand for air travel remains well above last year’s depressed levels, but the industry is mindful of cautionary notes about the health of the overall economy,” ATA President and CEO James May said in a statement.

The ATA also reported that U.S. airlines saw cargo traffic, as measured in cargo revenue ton miles, rise 19% year over year (8% domestically and 28% internationally) in June 2010, driven by increased international trade. July 2010 cargo data is not yet available.

Commercial aviation helps drive more than $1 trillion in annual U.S. economic activity and nearly 11 million U.S. jobs, according to the ATA. U.S.-based airlines operate approximately 25,000 flights in 80 countries, using more than 6,000 aircraft to carry an average of two million passengers and 50,000 tons of cargo.

PAST DECADE OF ENPLANEMENTS (Fort Smith Regional Airport)
2009: 78,432
2008: 87,030
2007: 99,127
2006: 94,717
2005: 102,607
2004: 92,928
2003: 90,493
2002: 87,944
2001: 95,419
2000: 104,182