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CAE had 1,003,375 passengers in 2010. That comes out to a monthly average of 83,614 passengers per month. Five percent of that is 4,180 passengers. I'd say that is quite significant. Where did these 4,000 passengers who used CAE in one month last year go this year instead? I would be curious to know what percentage of these 4,000 flew on Southwest out of GSP and/or CHS.
CAE had 1,003,375 passengers in 2010. That comes out to a monthly average of 83,614 passengers per month. Five percent of that is 4,180 passengers. I'd say that is quite significant. Where did these 4,000 passengers who used CAE in one month last year go this year instead? I would be curious to know what percentage of these 4,000 flew on Southwest out of GSP and/or CHS.
With only 1,003,375 passengers passing through CAE last year, that 5% erosion this year is quite significant. If the 5% erosion holds for the remainder of this year, CAE will drop below the crucial 1 million passenger mark.
Last edited by gsupstate; 04-13-2011 at 06:44 AM..
CAE had 1,003,375 passengers in 2010. That comes out to a monthly average of 83,614 passengers per month. Five percent of that is 4,180 passengers. I'd say that is quite significant. Where did these 4,000 passengers who used CAE in one month last year go this year instead? I would be curious to know what percentage of these 4,000 flew on Southwest out of GSP and/or CHS.
Wonder if it consisted mostly leisure travelers who may have opted to drive, fly out of another airport or not go on vacation at all. THis seems to be the group mostly affected by fare changes If it is 5% per month for the next several months.. then I would be very concerned because now you are talking about business travelers that may be finding alternatives
Unfortunately I think this 5% may be the beginning of at least a somewhat accelerated leakage problem with Southwest book-ending CAE. Instead of just shuttling up to CLT for cheaper alternative flights, we now have three options. I don't think it will be catastrophic (you will still have a stable base of state/university/Ft. Jackson-generated traffic and some business travelers), but there will be a definite ceiling on CAE's growth for some time until we get more robust local industry growth. Without local business/industry growth, our airport will be another Lincoln, Nebraska or Harrisburg, Pennsylvania - a handful regional jets to mostly nearby hubs to maintain basic connectivity, but leakage to bigger and/or more assertive cities.
CAE's goal now should be to make higher-end business travel to the region as easy as possible, and that means maximizing our connections to the three major alliances' hubs, particularly longer-range and international feed. Vision Airlines, etc. are all good and fine, but they are a niche leisure product that won't significantly move the enplanement needle. Also needed is the last big infrastructure investment that can greatly help the airport - the planned extension of John Hardee Expressway to a direct connection with I-26.
Wonder if it consisted mostly leisure travelers who may have opted to drive, fly out of another airport or not go on vacation at all. THis seems to be the group mostly affected by fare changes If it is 5% per month for the next several months.. then I would be very concerned because now you are talking about business travelers that may be finding alternatives
It isn't just a month to month issue. This is an ongoing problem with erosion that has been happening for several years now (all happening while both Spirit and Allegiant tried service at CAE only to pull out). Something needs to be done.
Look at the numbers:
In 2008 there were 1,149,000 passengers at CAE
In 2009 there were 1,051,000 passengers at CAE (a drop of almost 100K)
In 2010 there were 1,003,000 passengers at CAE (a drop of almost 50K)
At the current rate, 2011 is looking like it will have another 50K drop in passenger numbers.
These kinds of drops year after year need to be proactively addressed. Is it cost? What low cost carrier is the airport courting? Is it the bleeding to nearby airports and if so, why? Is the market demand simply not there? etc? etc?
Last edited by gsupstate; 04-13-2011 at 10:31 AM..
Well, for comparison's (Comparing is staying on topic, right?) sake I must say I'm shocked at the numbers this November, 2010, article provided about GSP's air traffic. I assumed GSP had significantly more than CAE already. The rebounding jobs picture in the Upstate does seem to be causing a significant increase up there. That's good for the state. CAE will be fine.
Well, for comparison's (Comparing is staying on topic, right?) sake I must say I'm shocked at the numbers this November, 2010, article provided about GSP's air traffic. I assumed GSP had significantly more than CAE already. The rebounding jobs picture in the Upstate does seem to be causing a significant increase up there. That's good for the state. CAE will be fine.
You must double the GSA article "enplaned" number to get "total passengers" (enplaned and deplaned), from that 6 month old article. So yes, for comparison, GSP is significantly ahead of CAE. For March, GSP just had a 38.4% increase as well, not continued erosion. The topic of this thread is CAE passenger numbers and what it will take to turn CAE around. Any thoughts on that?
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If it is 5% per month for the next several months.. then I would be very concerned because now you are talking about business travelers that may be finding alternatives
