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Airline Passenger Traffic Growing, but More Slowly

Posted on: Saturday, 17 June 2006, 09:00 CDT

By D.R. Stewart, Tulsa World, Okla.

Jun. 17--Airline passenger traffic in Tulsa is increasing at about half the rate it has for the past year, but it is still growing in contrast to some cities in the region, airport officials said Friday.

"As we are seeing a slowdown in the general economy, it is reflected in the passenger numbers," said Airports Director Jeff Mulder. "But I still think we are doing better than other airports. Memphis and Wichita, for instance, have been seeing declines in passenger traffic."

In May, airline passenger traffic totaled 293,320 travelers at Tulsa International Airport, a 2.99 percent increase over the enplanements and deplanements of May 2005.

For the first five months of the year, airline passenger traffic was 1.25 million travelers, up 3.9 percent from the January-through-May period a year ago.

Aircraft operations, which include a landing or a takeoff, at Tulsa International totaled 11,914 in May, a drop of 4.17 percent from the same period last year. Through May, aircraft operations totaled 55,385, down 10.7 percent from the first five months of 2005.

Mulder said a national trend by airlines to replace larger aircraft with smaller, regional jets, is evident in Tulsa.

"Airlines are putting smaller aircraft on routes because it costs less to operate and takes less fuel," he said. "We may seem some frequency tradeoffs and landings increase as the airlines replace large aircraft with two smaller aircraft."

Parking revenue and activity trends of the first four months were repeated last month following parking rate increases late last year, Mulder said.

In May, parking revenue was $591,478, a 29.4 percent increase from May 2005. Parking activity totaled 72,220 vehicles last month, down 0.9 percent from the same month last year.

For the first five months, parking revenue was $2.7 million, a 28.7 percent increase from the same period a year ago. Parking activity in the first five months was 307,267 vehicles, down 1 percent from 2005's first five months.

On Thursday, Tulsa Airports Improvement Trustees approved a $34.4 million 2006-2007 budget, a 4.2 percent increase over the current budget. The new budget includes an $18.58 million operating budget for Tulsa International and Jones Riverside Airport at Jenks, up 4.7 percent from the current operating costs.

With fuel and utilities costs rising at the airports, Mayor Kathy Taylor said she is concerned about maximizing use of aerospace resources as well as increasing revenue for the city.

Following TAIT's last Triennial Review, which is a benchmarking of airport operations and costs compared with other airports, consultants advised trustees to tap additional nonairline revenue to keep airline costs contained.

In the projected fiscal year 2007 budget, parking revenue is projected to rise 36.7 percent, to $5.54 million; rental car revenue is forecast to increase 7.5 percent, to $3.8 million; food and retail concession receipts are expected to grow 26.6 percent, to $950,000; and display advertising revenue is projected at $220,000, a 37.5 percent increase.

Taylor said she is undecided about whether to reappoint Ron Turner to the airport board. Turner's four-year term expired April 30. He was former Mayor Bill LaFortune's first appointee to the board.

"I haven't come to any decision," Taylor said after Thursday's board meeting. "There are a lot of issues that require knowledge of (airport) history because we have had so many changes at the airport.

"This is a fairly new board, we have a new airport director and we will soon have a new marketing director. I just feel there has to be a sense of history on the board, particularly when we have these litigation issues pending."

Board members met Thursday in executive session for 45 minutes to discuss lawsuits filed against TAIT and/or the city involving the trust's aircraft noise mitigation program, the Great Plains Airlines bankruptcy and Jones Riverside Airport issues.

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D.R. Stewart 581-8451 don.stewart@tulsaworld.com

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Copyright (c) 2006, Tulsa World, Okla.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: Tulsa World

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