Airport posts decrease in March traffic

SkyWest's departure a contributing factor

The decrease comes following the departure of one of the airport's major tenants, SkyWest Airlines, at the end of February.

The airport's remaining commercial commuter airline, United Express, has actually seen an increase in its own business. This may be due to travelers choosing the airline service to Los Angeles International Airport over earthquake-related freeway delays, as well as the departure of its competition, said Brandon Eaton, station manager.

"When they (SkyWest) pulled out, we got a lot of their business," Eaton said.

Although United Express' passengers have increased, it has not been enough to make up for the SkyWest departure.

"I don't think we're carrying as much as the two of us together," Eaton said.

The number of passengers flying out of the airport dropped 4.5 percent, from 3,032 in March 1993 to 2,896 this year.

Along with the drop in passengers came a greater plunge in air freight, down nearly 75 percent, from 1,880 pounds in March 1993 to 475 a year later.

This decrease may also be the result of SkyWest's departure, as well as fluctuations in shipping.

"I think it just depends on what's being shipped," said Diane Scully, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Department of Airports. "We're not dealing with a large amount anyway."

While overall operations - including military and general aviation flights - decreased 40 percent, the revenue-related operations (passengers and air freight) decreased 51 percent.

The drop-off in airport operations from last year to this year is not as severe for the three-month period from January to March, officials reported.

The effect of the earthquake can be seen in passenger totals. From January through March 1993, the airport served 7,975. This figure increased a year later to 12,954, an increase of more than 62 percent.

Air freight, however, decreased during this period in comparison with the previous year.

In 1993, the airport handled 3,968 pounds of freight. For the same three-month period this year, freight decreased by 36 percent to 2,530 pounds.

Revenue-related operations showed a slight decrease - 4 percent - down from 1,827 in 1993 to 1,750 this year.

Overall operations at the airport decreased 23.8 percent from the January-March period in 1993 and one year later.