2 percent passenger drop pleases RIC officials

Passenger traffic was down slightly more than 2 percent for September at Richmond International Airport.

And that's OK, airport officials said yesterday.

"I'm pleased about where we are in our boardings," said the airport's president and CEO, Jon Mathiasen. "We're doing better than many of our peer airports and the domestic airport industry in general."

Passenger traffic is a key measure of an airport's economic health.

The capital region airport's passenger volume has been better than expected since the beginning of its financial year in July, officials said.

RIC budgeted for a 3 percent reduction in traffic, said Troy Bell, the airport's director of marketing and air service development.

"So far, a quarter of the way through this fiscal year, we're off about 1.8 percent," Bell said.

That came despite a 15.6 percent decrease in the number of airline seats available to Richmond air travelers in September.

Five of the nine airlines serving RIC reported growth for the month, commission reported: JetBlue Airways, 25.2 percent; American Airlines, 11.1 percent; US Airways, 5.6 percent; Continental Airlines, 4.3 percent; and United Airlines, 2.9 percent.

JetBlue showed strong passenger loads on its Richmond flights, Bell said. JetBlue serves New York, Boston, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., from Richmond.

Richmond International counted 263,975 air travelers in September, down from 269,527 from the same month a year ago, the Capital Region Airport Commission reported.

The September passenger figures looked especially good after the double-digit declines in February and March, Bell said.

October's results should be similar to September's, based on the month so far, with traffic off 2 percent to 3 percent, he said.

Parking revenue, which makes up nearly half of RIC's operating income, was up in September, officials said. That's an indication of recovering business travel.

Parking fees were pushing $11 per boarding passenger, comparable to the figures for the same time last year.

Nearly 3.4 million travelers used Richmond International last year.

Contact Peter Bacqué at (804) 649-6813 or .