"Lower Fares Help Smaller North Carolina Airports Be More Competitive"

Thursday, May 20, 2004

Lower Fares Help Smaller North Carolina Airports Be More Competitive
The Daily News, Jacksonville, N.C. 


JACKSONVILLE, N.C. -- US Airways' decision to lower fares at Albert J. Ellis
Airport in March was apparently successful in keeping more local business
from driving to Raleigh-Durham International.

Passenger statistics for March and April showed a spike in business at Ellis
Airport from a year ago over the same periods. Business went from 6,349
passengers in March 2003 to 10,756 this year. For April, the increase was
from 6,505 in 2003 to 11,380 this year.

It's the busiest the airport has been since July 1999, when two airlines
still operated flights there, said airport director Jerry Vickers. More than
6,000 passengers used the airport during the first half of May, and the
summer travel season looks promising, he said.

"That's a big number, considering we are doing that with one airline," he
said.

US Airways is trying to price flights to and from Jacksonville within $10 of
its Raleigh flights, he said. The idea is to make it cheaper for someone to
fly out of Ellis, where US Airways has a lock on the market, than to drive
to Raleigh. The airline offers commuter flights to Charlotte.

"That's certainly spurred additional demand," Vickers said.

Airline deregulation in the 1980s generally led to lower ticket prices for
passengers, but the savings weren't spread out evenly, Vickers said. Smaller
facilities, like Ellis, were generally passed over in favor of hubs and
large airports, where the volume of traffic creates an incentive for
airlines to offer the lowest fares.

For years, eastern North Carolinians faced a dilemma: Pay fares twice as
high as RDU or drive there. After discount carrier Southwest opened a
terminal at RDU, even more passengers bypassed Ellis and other local
airports.

Now, Jacksonville residents are beginning to enjoy the fruits of airline
deregulation.

A recent price check of roundtrip flights departing June 7 and returning
June 14 showed flights from Ellis to several popular destinations are only
slightly more expensive than flights originating at RDU.

For instance, it would cost $189 to fly US Airways from Ellis to LaGuardia
International Airport in Queens, N.Y. The cheapest flight from RDU to
LaGuardia was Delta at $169. US Airways' cheapest flight was $181.

A flight from Ellis to Washington, D.C., costs $140 on US Airways. Delta and
US Airways both offered flights from RDU to Washington for $133.

Ellis' fare to Los Angeles International Airport -- $315 roundtrip -- didn't
fare as well. Delta had the cheapest flight from Raleigh at $271. US
Airways' best fare from Raleigh was $273. Conceivably, that $44 difference
would be offset by gas and parking costs.

Those lower fares will continue as long as extra demand at Ellis makes up
for the reduced prices, Vickers said.

About 75 percent of the seats on April flights out of Ellis were filled,
compared to an industry average of about 55 to 65 percent for express
commuter flights, Vickers said.

He hopes to parlay lower fares and increased passenger traffic into more
flights and even the return of jet service to Ellis. US Airways has begun
receiving the small, regional jets they ordered, and the airline will deploy
them where it makes the most financial sense.


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