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March was record month at TIA

Spring break and Easter in the same month help push passengers to near 1-million.

By JEAN HELLER
Published May 6, 2005

TAMPA - Tampa International Airport missed by a whisker in March its first-ever month of boarding more than 1-million passengers but still recorded the best month in airport history.

"All the stars were lined up right," said Louis Miller, executive director of the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority. "We had spring break, Easter fell in March this year, we're seeing incredibly low fares, and new nonstop routes are opening up to places that are driveable. The million mark didn't happen in March, but we'll see it next year."

For passengers, the throngs meant some serious security backups, but that situation should ease now that the new Airside C has opened as home to TIA's largest carrier, Southwest Airlines. The new facility has more security capacity than Southwest's former home in Airside A.

March - always TIA's busiest month, surpassing even November and December because of spring break - saw 965,507 passengers boarding flights this year, an increase of more than 11 percent over the record month of March 2004, when 869,377 passengers boarded planes at TIA.

It was the biggest month in TIA's history and pushed the airport's growth rate well beyond the national average of 6.8 percent.

"I remember just a few years ago when we had a million total passengers for the first time - arrivals and departures - and that was huge," said airport spokeswoman Brenda Geoghagan. "Now we just missed totaling up a million departures. The growth has been amazing."

In fact, going back more than a year, every month has set a new record over the same month a year earlier with one exception: last August. The airport was closed for three days that month because of hurricanes; otherwise the streak of records would have been unbroken.

"It has to stop sometime, doesn't it?" Miller said.

He said the growth of nonstop service to North and South Carolina and Tennessee, places that are within reasonable driving distance, had stimulated the growth, along with very low fares.

"It used to be that if you wanted to get to some of those cities you had to change planes in Charlotte on US Air or Atlanta on Delta, and when you factor in the time and the hassle, it was just as easy and almost as fast to drive," Miller said. "All that has changed."

TIA is also helped, Miller said, by the strong component of business travelers attracted by low fares and faster, easier direct flights. Almost 40 percent of all TIA passengers are flying on business and slightly more than 60 percent on leisure.

Miller said he didn't expect the airport to have another shot at a million boarding passengers until next March.

Southwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines continue to battle for the No. 1 spot at TIA. Southwest's market share at the airport was 20.3 percent in March. Delta's was 18.8 percent. Despite flight reductions, US Airways maintained third place with 11.3 percent of the market.

Among the larger airlines, the biggest passenger gains for the month over March 2004 were recorded by American/TWA at 10.5 percent, JetBlue Airways at 22.8 percent, Southwest at 16.6 percent and US Airways at 11.1 percent.

As Tampa International Airport generates record after record for passenger numbers, there are stories within the story:

MOST PROSPEROUS AIRSIDE: Last month, Airside A food, beverage and merchandise concessions generated more than $1.4-million in gross revenue, well ahead of Airside E, which reported earnings of nearly $1.15-million. That could change, however, now that Southwest Airlines has left Airside A for the new Airside C.

BIGGEST LOSERS: Other than businesses that have closed, such as the Museum Company and Golf America, few businesses at TIA have lost ground in the last four years. They are Florida Attractions, where business is down 25 percent since March 2002; Florida Market, down more than 10 percent; Dollar and National car rentals, down 11.6 percent and 21 percent respectively; and In-Flite Kitchens, down 29.4 percent because few airlines serve food these days.

BIGGEST WINNERS: Starbucks, up 83.7 percent due in part to the move of the store in the main terminal to larger quarters; and Enterprise and Thrifty car rentals, up 332 percent and 181 percent respectively, reflecting a move back onto airport property.

SINGLE BIGGEST EARNER AMONG CONCESSIONS: T.G.I. Friday's in the landside terminal grossed more than $844,000 last month.

[Last modified May 6, 2005, 00:37:10]