Columbus Airport Traffic Down

March 1, 2004

Columbus Airport Traffic Down 
Wheeling News Register, WV


COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Passenger traffic at Port
Columbus International Airport fell 7.3 percent in
2003, the year America West closed its hub there,
airport officials said. 

Airport officials and analysts said fewer flights
because of America West's departure meant fewer
passengers and rises in some fares. 
"We are not the low-cost airport that we used to be,''
said Elsie Blount of Uniglobe Travel Designers in
Columbus. 

Traffic at Dayton International Airport climbed 14.3
percent in the last year, although airport spokeswoman
Sharon Sears did not know how much of that increase
could be attributed to central Ohio travelers. 

"I wouldn't worry,'' said Michael Boyd, an aviation
consultant with the Boyd Group in Evergreen, Colo.
"Columbus is well-served, with few major gaps and you
still have Southwest.'' 

Port Columbus airport officials have offered financial
incentives to new airlines, especially low-cost
carriers such as JetBlue and Frontier. 

"We're focusing our time and energy on what matters
most - where demand is today and how to fill it,''
spokesman David Whitaker said. 

Despite losing $1.1 million in landing fees after the
loss of America West, Port Columbus still posted a
$20.3 million surplus, down from $22 million in 2002,
unaudited records showed. 

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