"Myrtle Beach, S.C., airport maintains fast growth rate in passengers"

Wednesday, September 22, 2004

Myrtle Beach, S.C., airport maintains fast growth rate in passengers
The Myrtle Beach (SC) Sun News


After leading the state in passenger growth last year, Myrtle Beach
International Airport is currently the second-busiest airport in the state.

Passenger traffic at the airport so far this year has increased 22 percent
over 2003.

Such strong growth can be a buffer against the struggles of major airlines
while helping officials recruit new air service and gain needed federal
building funds.

"Strong growth helps us market Myrtle Beach as a destination," said Bob
Kemp, director of Myrtle Beach Inter national Airport. "The growth just
confirms the need for the new terminal building." Site work is underway for
a new, 14-gate terminal on the opposite side of the airport's runway.
Groundbreaking is expected by the second quarter of 2005, with completion by
early 2007. The total project will cost $191 million.

Kemp said increased passenger traffic at the airport is also beneficial for
funding the new terminal.

The largest source of federal funds for the project come from the
government's Airport Improvement Program, which also helps fund capital
improvements at the existing terminal.

"Our airport entitlement funds are based on enplanements," Kemp said. "The
more arrivals we have, we get a bigger share of that pie." Growth at the
airport also factors in luring new airlines to Myrtle Beach. Strong
passenger traffic will be especially beneficial if any of the financially
troubled airlines serving the airport should fold.

US Airways, the busiest carrier in Myrtle Beach, recently filed for Chapter
11 bankruptcy protection for the second time in two years.

United, which will begin service from Myrtle Beach in February, has also
filed Chapter 11. Delta is also struggling.

"Should any of the legacy airlines that are in difficulty fail, all of the
airports in the state are going to be impacted, but the airports that have
stronger growth would probably compete well for new service," Kemp said.

The next three months will determine whether Myrtle Beach International
Airport will finish the year as the state's second-busiest airport.

The airport was the state's third-busiest at the end of 2003, but it is now
ahead of Greenville-Spartanburg Inter national Airport by 133,000 passengers
so far for 2004.

The six percent jump in boarding passengers at Myrtle Beach International
last year was the largest increase in the state, and far ahead of the
national average of 1 percent.

Myrtle Beach International Airport currently offers non-stop service to 23
destinations with between 36 and 52 daily non-stop flights. The airport had
more boarding passengers in August than Charleston International Airport,
the state's busiest.

But travel patterns vary at the state's major airports and numbers still
could shift. Myrtle Beach is predominantly a leisure market where travel is
more seasonal.

"I think that everybody could trade places between now and the end of the
year," said Rosylin Weston, director of public relations at
Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport. "You're talking about a couple
hundred thousand passengers that separate No. 1 from No. 3." Weston said
business travelers slightly outnumber leisure travelers through the
Greenville airport, at about a 60-to-40 percent mix. There are 77 departures
daily to 17 non-stop destinations.

"We don't have that kind of seasonal draw into the upstate market," Weston
said. "What we have is pretty consistent traffic into the area all year
long." Business travelers are even more prominent at Columbia Metropolitan
Airport, making up about 70 percent of travelers, according to public
relations director Lynne Douglas. The airport has 60 daily non-stop flights
to 14 destinations.

Charleston International Airport, the state's busiest, has served about
59,000 more passengers so far this year than Myrtle Beach International.

The airport has 76 non-stop departures daily to 16 destinations.

Becky Beamon, the airport's director of public relations, said business and
tourism traffic is about even.

"We have a lot of government business here, even though the Naval Base is
gone," Beamon said. "Right now, we certainly look for things to keep going
up." All of the state's airports are in growth mode, and that is expected to
continue in spite of financial problems at several of the nation's major
airlines.

Kemp said Myrtle Beach International Airport was growing faster than any
other in the state prior to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

"If our growth continues as we had previously experienced it, Myrtle Beach
will become the busiest airport in the state within the next few years."
Kemp said.


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