HIGH FLYING: Compared with airports in cities of similar size and demographics in 2015, traffic at Springfield-Branson National Airport is faring well.
SGF is 1M passenger-bound
Jana Bounds
Posted online
Industry and economic trade winds are moving Springfield-Branson National Airport to another record. And officials have their sites on one more milestone: 1 million passengers.
Passengers through the airport known by service code SGF totaled 952,703 in 2016, up 4.3 percent from 2015’s record of 913,395 passengers.
“We’re getting closer and closer to the magic 1 million passenger milestone,” SGF Aviation Director Brian Weiler said in a news release. “Once an airport reaches that level, it’s playing in a different league. Airlines are more willing to consider new service, and retailers are more inclined to improve food and retail options.”
Airport officials say it’s the fifth straight year of gains at SGF.
What’s behind the improving market?
“Something is going on in your economy that is pretty dang positive,” said Michael Boyd, an air service industry consultant with Evergreen, Colorado-based Boyd Group International. “Another thing is you’re a very well located airport. You’re in the middle of the country which means you can go to a number of gateways.”
SGF recently added more flight options. Las Vegas-based Allegiant Travel Co. (Nasdaq: ALGT) announced seasonal nonstop service starting May 25 to the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport in Florida. Currently, Allegiant offers nonstop flights from Springfield to Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Phoenix, as well as Florida airports in Orlando, Punta Gorda and Clearwater.
In the past 14 months, Allegiant also converted its seasonal L.A. flights to year-round service, and American Airlines Group Inc. (Nasdaq: AAL) added Springfield flights to Charlotte. The Springfield airport now offers 12 nonstop flights.
If the demand wasn’t here, the airlines wouldn’t be pouring so many seats into the market, said SGF spokesman Kent Boyd.
“It’s just a barometer of how good the economy is around here,” he said.
With the movement, SGF joins three other national airports approaching the 1 million-passenger mark: Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Bellingham, Washington; and Fairbanks, Alaska, according to Federal Aviation Administration data as of 2015.
SGF officials forecast passenger growth of 2-3 percent a year, following the population increases in the Springfield metropolitan statistical area. The airport would have to grow its passenger count by 5 percent this year to reach the 1 million-passenger mark.
Boyd said there are a few factors at play.
He’s noticed a shift in perception of SGF’s pricing with the rate differential generally $100-$150 compared with Kansas City, St. Louis or Tulsa. More often, Boyd said, travelers decide to fly locally after factoring in additional time, fuel, food and hotels.
Then there is a shift in the airline industry.
“The airline world of today is nothing like it was before the recession or even at the turn of the century. It’s a completely different world,” Boyd said.
In the early 2000s, there were some 20 main airlines, and a dozen in flight 10 years ago. Now, there are four: American (Nasdaq: AAL), Delta (NYSE: DAL), United (NYSE: UAL) and Southwest (NYSE: LUV), he said. And they’re fighting the competitive niche airlines like Allegiant, Spirit, Frontier and JetBlue.
“In the past 24-36 months, the low-cost airlines have really been putting the hammer on the old legacy airlines,” he said.
Boyd credits Allegiant’s 2005 entry in the Springfield market for putting fare pressures on the legacy airlines and stimulating SGF passenger traffic.
“There are a lot of people who are flying that didn’t used to – and it’s because of the presence of Allegiant in the market,” he said.
This uptick isn’t true for all markets similar in size to Springfield. “We’ve been way ahead of the curve,” Boyd said.
In other areas, the passenger numbers are stagnant or down 2-3 percent, Boyd said.
Compared with airports in cities of similar population and economic demographics, Northwest Florida Beaches International in Panama City is on the high end, with 8.7 percent annual passenger growth in the most recent year recorded by the FAA. On the low end is Louisiana’s Shreveport Regional Airport, which posted a 4 percent drop in 2015 passengers.
Other year-end SGF figures:
• Scheduled airline flights were up 10 percent to 9,145.
• Take-offs and landings rose 13 percent.
• Available airline seats went up 12 percent.
• Air freight rose 7 percent.
• Fuel deliveries increased 10 percent to 6.8 million gallons.
An updated Lawrence County Health Department facility is under construction in a new development area on the south side of Mount Vernon, according to project officials.
