Far fewer passengers are boarding planes at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport this year compared to last -- a trend highlighted by a lower-than-usual number of summer fliers.
Despite adding Allegiant Air, an airline that offers flights to summer hotspots like Orlando, Fla., the airport saw a 10.4 percent drop in enplanements in June and an 11.7 percent dip in July compared to the same months a year ago.
Enplanements, the number of passengers boarding flights, have dropped 3.7 percent, from 132,385 in the first seven months of 2011 to 127,336 in the same time span in 2012.
"The loss of American Airlines played a role in this without a doubt, but there have been other things as well," airport director Barry Centini said. "The 9 percent unemployment rate here is a major factor in ridership. "But this is an issue that airports across the nation face."
American Airlines' decision to discontinue its service with the airport in November impacted the numbers, as the carrier accounted for 2,022 enplanements in June 2011 and 2,185 in July 2011. But that drop-off was partially offset by the addition of Allegiant, which, as of July 31, has boarded 1,709 passengers.
The major difference, though, exists in some of the airport's big-named airlines, such as United Airlines and US Airways. In the first seven months of 2011, those two airlines combined to board 95,377 passengers. This year, in that same time frame, the two carriers boarded 86,583, or 8,794 fewer passengers -- a drop of 9.2 percent.
The drastic decrease in enplanements isn't limited to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport, though.
Lehigh Valley International Airport in Allentown also has seen fewer passengers this year, especially during the summer months, airport executive director Charles Everett said.
He said enplanements dropped 22 percent in June and 29 percent in July compared to the same months a year ago. He added that enplanements at the airport are down 10 percent from this point last year.
"Certainly, it's the lowest number of enplanements we've had here in a long time," said Everett, who cited the reduction in flights offered by airlines as the main reason. "Some of our carriers are offering fewer flights than before based on high fuel costs.
"It's not just this area. Airlines nationwide are scaling back on the number of flights offered. We can only outrun a trend in the industry for so long, and we got hit this time."
As director of the Wilkes-Barre-based Institute for Public Policy & Economic Development, Teri Ooms said she believes three factors, one localized and two nationwide, have contributed to the decrease in the airport's traffic.
"The decrease in Marcellus Shale production warrants less traveling between corporate headquarters and locations in the area," said Ooms, referring to the number of companies who joined the drilling boom over the last several years. "The price of natural gas is low, and the demand has dropped. As a result, companies are slowing down the supply."
Another factor, said Ooms, is a decrease in both business and leisure travel.
"Businesses are scaling back on expenses, including flying," Ooms said. "They are looking for cheaper, more efficient ways to operate, such as conference calls or Skype sessions."
The economy has also taken a toll on families, who aren't able to take the same vacations they may have been able to in years past, said Ooms.
"If they do go on vacation, a lot of families are choosing driving vacations," Ooms said. "Flying a family of four across the country could be close to $2,000, depending on where you buy your ticket.
"With that cost at the start of your vacation, without including lodging, food and other items, it becomes a pretty hefty vacation."
While she has noticed a decrease in the number of passengers flying out of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport, Lynn Pearl, owner of Professional Travel and Tours, Dunmore, said plenty of people are still flying.
"I think people are just going out of town again, to Philadelphia and Newark," said Pearl, who has worked in travel agency business for more than 30 years. "I think it's both price driven and based on efficiency. People don't like connecting through Philadelphia because there seems to be an reliability factor that takes place there. They would prefer to just start there."
A look at the airport's airline ticket price survey, last updated on Aug. 14, suggests that their prices are favorable to the those at Lehigh Valley International Airport, and comparable to those at Philadelphia International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport, N.J.
Of the 100 travel destinations involved in the survey, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport offers cheaper prices to 64 locations, when compared to the Lehigh Valley International Airport.
Meanwhile, the airport offers either cheaper tickets, or tickets within a $50 range of the competing airport to 56 of the locations when compared to the Philadelphia International Airport, and 60 of the locations when compared to the Newark Liberty International Airport.
"We offer competitive ticket prices, so that's not an issue," Centini said. "We remain optimistic that this (decrease in enplanements) is just a wave that will pass. We are hoping things will turn around and be even than before."
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Copyright 2012 - The Citizens' Voice, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
