AUSTIN | ABIA Updates

[ILUVSAT]

Originally Posted by ATCZERO

No, just not in a position to hear any of the plans.

...until "early October," right?!?

[freerover]

Why Austin's airport lost 19 nonstop routes in the last year
By Daniel Salazar – Staff Writer, Austin Business Journal

For an airport constantly breaking passenger records, one Austin-Bergstrom International Airport statistic on a downswing may come as a surprise: the number of nonstop routes.

Last year, Austin Business Journal profiled ABIA's portfolio of nonstop routes — which had reached roughly 84 domestic and international destinations at the time.

But with peaks come valleys.

Now, about a year later, you can reach 64 airports in the Americas and Europe from Austin without a connection, according to the airport.

ABIA still secured some headline-making international routes like Lufthansa service to Frankfurt and WestJet flights to Calgary in the past year. But there are 19 domestic nonstop routes — from Reno, Nevada, to Providence, Rhode Island — that have been discontinued since last summer. That’s in addition to Volaris discontinuing an international nonstop to Guadalajara, Mexico, at the beginning of this year.

Here's why most of those domestic services were cut and what it means for the growing airport.

Frontier Airlines
Denver-based Frontier Airlines nearly doubled its number of nonstop routes in one fell swoop last year when it launched 14 new seasonal routes. Frontier's expansion signaled the only nonstop service to seven new cities, according to the February 2018 announcement.

But it discontinued those seven routes — Buffalo, New York; Jacksonville, Florida; Milwaukee; Omaha, Nebraska; Providence, Rhode Island; Reno, Nevada and Charleston, South Carolina — last fall and did not bring them back this year, said Frontier Senior Vice President Daniel Shurz. He said Providence and Charleston were the weakest performing routes.

Frontier also cut service to Louisville, Kentucky, which was added last year, and John Glenn Columbus International Airport in Ohio, which was added in 2017.

"Our expansion ... was very large," Shurz said. "We've learned a lot about the market in the meantime."

Shurz said Frontier primarily cut the routes in conjunction with facility constraints as part of its move to ABIA's South Terminal, a smaller, completely separate facility from the main Barbara Jordan Terminal.

"That was probably the biggest risk of being at the South Terminal — customers not knowing where it is," he said.

But Shurz said the airline enjoys shorter taxi times for planes and a less stressful environment for customers, some who could be infrequent flyers trying out a budget airline for the first time.

"It's definitely good from an operational perspective," he said. "[And] we think it's good from a customer perspective."


And Shurz said Frontier has seen solid demand from new routes it kept, such as Chicago and San Francisco, and its more frequent service to existing markets such as San Diego.

"We're seeing much more success this year with a focus on being in bigger markets [and] adding frequencies in some of these," Shurz said. "We absolutely intend to grow in Austin."

Via Air
In recent years, budget carrier Via Airlines added nonstop service from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to Amarillo; Branson, Missouri; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Little Rock, Arkansas; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Oklahoma City; Tucson, Arizona and Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

The Florida-based airline was the only operator providing nonstop service between those cities and Austin.

But in May the airport stopped doing business with Via Air after it failed to make payments to the airport and operators out of the South Terminal.

ABIA spokesman Bryce Dubee said Via's last day of operation at the Austin airport was May 30. The routes it served have not yet been picked up by another airline.

Media reports and aviation blog posts depicted a hasty, chaotic retreat by Via Air with idle aircraft and radio silence to inquiries about its shuttering service.

The airline had issues long before that, however. An investigation by KXAN News last year showed a business marked by unresponsive customer service, poor reviews and broken promises around refunds and reimbursements.

The Orlando Sentinel reported in July that the financially troubled airline was acquired by an Atlanta-based charter service.


Via Air staff did not return a request for comment from ABJ.

Allegiant Air
Allegiant Air, another budget airline, cut ABIA service to St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport in Florida and Columbus' Rickenbacker International Airport about a year ago.

"The decision was made that demand was not strong enough to continue flying those particular routes at this time," Allegiant spokeswoman Hilarie Grey wrote in an email.

Allegiant is still the only nonstop operator connecting Austin with Pittsburgh and Memphis, as well as Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport and Orlando Sanford International Airport in Florida. But it also flies routes with more competition such as Albuquerque, New Mexico; Cincinnati; Indianapolis and Las Vegas.

Grey said Allegiant's remaining routes are doing well, although she declined to get into specifics.

"Generally we work to pick up demand other carriers are not serving — whether that means a completely non-competitive route that no other airlines fly or one that has additional capacity for growth not already being served," she said.

'It's an ebb and flow'
Howard Mann is the vice president of Alexandria, Virginia-based Campbell Hill Aviation, which serves as an air service consultant to ABIA.

Mann said ultra-low cost carriers such as Frontier are more willing to launch a bunch of new nonstop routes at a time to see what sticks.

"You're seeing airlines take a chance on Austin based on the type of growth and demographics," Mann said. "They're trying to test a lot of markets with low-fare stimulation ... Some of those work and some of those don't."


Mann said it's not an indictment on the carrier or the city if a route doesn't show the demand that was expected.

"Every airplane is a limited asset where they have to figure out the best return," Mann said.

"Airlines are going to continue to take a risk and test out new opportunities in Austin," he added.

The Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce's Walter Zaykowski said ultra-low cost carriers have still seen gains in the last year, citing Frontier's rate of growth and Spirit Airlines entering the market earlier this year.

"It's an ebb and flow. This market is still very desirable for airlines," he said. "We hate to see markets lost but it's important to remember that a lot of these flights were semi-weekly."

Zaykowski said continued passenger growth shows the market is still healthy. He added he's confident that the airport can add back some of the routes it lost.

"Airlines are going to continue invest, whether it's increased frequency or adding new routes, whatever it might be," he said. "There's money to be made here."

TLDR: Normal fluctuation of budget airlines

-Via Airlines went out of business (8 flights)

-Frontier Airlines expanded to fast and cut 7 of the 14 new flights they started a couple years ago due to lower performance and facility constraints with the south terminal.

-Allegiant Air cut a couple lower performing routes. 

-Volaris discontinuing an international nonstop to Guadalajara, Mexico, at the beginning of this year.

[aschwab]

Very few of the destinations are places I would go to or use. Granted, I am most hurt by the Guadalajara flight.

But, it was nice having options...

[freerover]

Originally Posted by aschwab

Very few of the destinations are places I would go to or use. Granted, I am most hurt by the Guadalajara flight.

But, it was nice having options...

Hoping to see AeroMexico adding Monterrey once the new gates open and Delta gets more room. Maybe if they do, they could alternate it with Guadalajara.

[GoldenBoot]

Originally Posted by freerover

Why Austin's airport lost 19 nonstop routes in the last year
By Daniel Salazar – Staff Writer, Austin Business Journal






TLDR: Normal fluctuation of budget airlines

-Via Airlines went out of business (8 flights)

-Frontier Airlines expanded to fast and cut 7 of the 14 new flights they started a couple years ago due to lower performance and facility constraints with the south terminal.

-Allegiant Air cut a couple lower performing routes. 

-Volaris discontinuing an international nonstop to Guadalajara, Mexico, at the beginning of this year.

^^^No big deal. Growth is at 9.2% Y-O-Y Jan-May 2019 - even with the dropped routes.

It's a slow news month. Ole little Daniel had to write something.

[ILUVSAT]

I agree with GB. Most of those flights (as mentioned) had frequencies of one, two or at most, three times a week.

[DoubleC]

It was certainly nice seeing a lot of a320neos.

[eskimo33]

Atlanta-based company buys Via Air, plans to bring back ABIA flights.
https://www.kxan.com/news/local/aust...-abia-flights/

[the Genral]

I'm glad, only because I love the type of jet they will fly. That's one sexy bird.

[DoubleC]

Hopefully this management will be a lot smarter than the one before, assuming AUS will want to do business with them still.

[Jdawgboy]

I'm suprised nobody has mentioned that AA has upgraded Austin to Five Star Service which started Aug 1st. Likely in response to Delta designating us a focus city.

[OU812]

Wanted to chime in on Spirit Airlines. Worst piece of shit airline I've ever been on and the last time I flew on Spirit, I thought to myself NEVER AGAIN. Tight ass seats/leg room (and I'm skinny AF). Talk about being nickel & dimed plus shitty customer service. They should change their name to GHETTO AIR.

Saving a few bucks just isn't worth it when you get older!

Anyways, that is all.

[DoubleC]

Originally Posted by OU812

Wanted to chime in on Spirit Airlines. Worst piece of shit airline I've ever been on and the last time I flew on Spirit, I thought to myself NEVER AGAIN. Tight ass seats/leg room (and I'm skinny AF). Talk about being nickel & dimed plus shitty customer service. They should change their name to GHETTO AIR.

Saving a few bucks just isn't worth it when you get older!

Anyways, that is all.

Ahahahah, yes that’s usually what people complain about when choosing Spirit.

I’ve flown on them twice, knew about the fees so I was ready (backpack in my feet, one checked bag at time of purchase). A bit cramped but certainly not eternal. What was your experience?

[ahealy]

Any news on upcoming international flights? Perhaps though BA?

Duuuuude, I just got back from Italy and flew business on the upper level of the queen. JESUS MARY AND JOSPEH that was marvelous. I highly recommend spending the extra coins for that experience before they're all shelved

It truly felt like just closing my eyes and waking up in a different country....with the help of 8 hours of AbFab/Golden Girls....

[Jdawgboy]

Originally Posted by ahealy

Any news on upcoming international flights? Perhaps though BA?

Duuuuude, I just got back from Italy and flew business on the upper level of the queen. JESUS MARY AND JOSPEH that was marvelous. I highly recommend spending the extra coins for that experience before they're all shelved

It truly felt like just closing my eyes and waking up in a different country....with the help of 8 hours of AbFab/Golden Girls....

I love those shows!!!

[freerover]

Has anyone caught one of the new autonomous shuttles running from garage 1 to CONRAC/rideshare?

• Video Link

[freerover]

AUSTIN, Texas – The busy summer travel season continues to break records at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport with 1,609,397 passengers traveling in June 2019. This new record surpasses the previous monthly record set a month prior in May 2019, of 1,543,108 passengers.


June 2019


Passenger Activity: Total passenger traffic for June 2019 was 1,609,397 up 8.1% compared to June 2018. June 2019 enplanements totaled 815,203, up 7%. Southwest Airlines passengers totaled 536,463, up 5.1%; American Airlines passengers totaled 257,710, up 3.3%; Delta Air Lines passengers totaled 227,132, up 14.4%; United Airlines passengers totaled 224,590, up 4.4%; Frontier Airlines passengers totaled 100,295, down 25%; Spirit Airlines passengers totaled 78,058; Alaska Airlines passengers 55,584, up 10%; JetBlue Airways passengers totaled 49,729, down 3.1%; Allegiant Air passengers totaled 23,782, down 26.7%; British Airways passengers totaled 18,807, up 5.6%; Lufthansa passengers totaled 9,336; Norwegian Air passengers totaled 8,214, up 0.4%; Air Canada passengers totaled 7,205, up 59.9%; AeroMexico passengers totaled 4,578, up 15%; Sun Country Airlines passengers totaled 4,496, up 2.1%; WestJet passengers totaled 2,252; Vacation Express passengers totaled 1,073, up 11.8% and Miami Air passengers totaled 93.

June 2019 air cargo totaled 14,244,610 lbs., down 3% compared to June 2018. International air cargo totaled 1,721,137 lbs., up 13.9%. Federal Express carried 7.4 million lbs., down 9.5%; and United Parcel Service carried 3.2 million lbs., up 6.3%.

Air Services transferred 757,142 lbs. of mail, up 18.8%; and 1,829,984 lbs. of belly freight, up 4.3%.

Aircraft Operations: General Aviation operations totaled 3,165, down 22.7%. Combined operations (including commercial and military) totaled 17,483, down 5.3%.



January - June 2019

Passenger Activity: Total passenger traffic for January – June 2019 was 8,269,731, up 9%, compared to January – June 2018. January – June 2019 enplanements totaled 4,152,514, up 8.9%. Southwest Airlines passengers totaled 2,862,792, up 5.9%; American Airlines passengers totaled 1,494,454, up 10.5%; United Airlines passengers totaled 1,215,218, up 8.3%; Delta Air Lines passengers totaled 1,122,435, up 10.7%; Frontier Airlines passengers totaled 356,169, down 26.3%; Spirit Airlines passengers totaled 317,106; Alaska Airlines passengers 298,421, up 12%; JetBlue Airways passengers totaled 280,492, down 4.9%; Allegiant Air passengers totaled 107,494, down 33.1%; British Airways passengers totaled 91,554, up 14.3%; Air Canada passengers totaled 33,407, up 45.5%; Norwegian Air passengers totaled 31,308, up 26.1%; AeroMexico passengers totaled 19,632, down 5.1 %; Lufthansa passengers totaled 16,755; Sun Country Airlines passengers totaled 10,797, up 61.9%; WestJet passengers totaled 4,111; VIA Airlines passengers totaled 3,218, down 61.6%; Swift Air passengers totaled 1,267, up 49.9%;Vacation Express passengers totaled 1,073, up 11.8%; Miami Air passengers totaled 869, up 181.2%; Scandinavian Airlines passengers totaled 423, down 39.3%; Volaris passengers totaled 434, down 94%; and Air New Zealand passengers totaled 302.

June 2019 (January – June 2019) air cargo totaled 89,072,626 lbs., down .8% compared to June 2018. International air cargo totaled 10,140,711 lbs., down 7.5%. Federal Express carried 47.3 million lbs., down 4.3%; and United Parcel Service carried 18.4 million lbs., down 3%.

Air Services transferred 5,389,328 lbs. of mail, up 48.1%; and 11,177,052 lbs. of belly freight, up 14%.

Aircraft Operations: General Aviation operations totaled 21,228 for January – June 2019, down 13.3%. Combined operations (including commercial and military) totaled 102,849, down .6%.

Delta way up, Frontier way down.

[atx-adam]

Originally Posted by freerover

Delta Air Lines passengers totaled 227,132, up 14.4%; United Airlines passengers totaled 224,590.

I believe this is the first month that Delta has surpassed United to be the #3 largest carrier in Austin behind SWA and AA. Recent months prior:

May 2019: United Airlines passengers totaled 222,615, up 7.6%; Delta Air Lines passengers 211,652, up 11.3%

April 2019: United Airlines passengers totaled 212,380, up 6.6%; Delta Air Lines passengers 195,128, up 8.7%

March 2019: United Airlines passengers totaled 223,699, up 6.9%; Delta Air Lines passengers 198,508, up 9.3%

February 2019: United Airlines passengers totaled 331,934, up 13.8%; Delta Air Lines passengers 290,015, up 9.9%;

January 2019: United Airlines passengers totaled 170,448, up 14.9%; Delta Air Lines passengers totaled 146,730, up 11.6%

December 2018: United Airlines passengers totaled 193,618, down 1.4%; Delta Air Lines passengers totaled 162,117

That new SkyClub is paying off!

[psychlotron]

From the June ABIA numbers: "Lufthansa passengers totaled 9,336" - which sounds pretty good, but can someone explain how to interpret that number?

There are 30 days in June. 9,336 divided by 30 is an average of about 311 passengers per day.

Lufthansa uses an A330 for Austin. That plane only holds 255 passengers. I think that means that they're counting both arrivals and departures to arrive at 9336. Is that correct?

If that's true, then I'm coming up with 61% of Lufthansa seats occupied on the average day in June, considering both departures and arrivals.

Does that make sense? And does it indicate that they're off to a successful start?

[gabetx]

Originally Posted by psychlotron

From the June ABIA numbers: "Lufthansa passengers totaled 9,336" - which sounds pretty good, but can someone explain how to interpret that number?

There are 30 days in June. 9,336 divided by 30 is an average of about 311 passengers per day.

Lufthansa uses an A330 for Austin. That plane only holds 255 passengers. I think that means that they're counting both arrivals and departures to arrive at 9336. Is that correct?

If that's true, then I'm coming up with 61% of Lufthansa seats occupied on the average day in June, considering both departures and arrivals.

Does that make sense? And does it indicate that they're off to a successful start?

Also, consider the fact that Luftansa only flies into Austin 5 days a week vs 7. So out of those 30 days, Luftansa only flew here 21 of them, (5 Sundays and 4 Tuesdays in June which are days Luftansa doesn't fly to Austin). So you are looking at about an 87% occupancy rate on both arrivals/ departures, which seems pretty strong. However, BA had over 91,000 passengers here in June. BA flies here daily and uses a 747-400 during the summer months. Either way, BA had almost 10 times the passengers Luftansa did.

There is one thing I found very interesting about BA flights into Austin. My grandmother flew in last week on BA. While waiting outside of customs for her, I noticed many passengers from the flight were walking over back towards check-in and I overheard several speaking to each other about their connecting flights. It made me curious to know if any of these passengers were using American Airlines or maybe one of the discount carriers for their connecting flight. I am not sure if this was an accurate representation of most BA flights that arrive daily, but I never really thought Austin would be used much as a connecting airport.

***Edit:

I apologize, I was mistaken! It is Tuesday's and Thursday's that Luftansa doesn't fly to Austin, which makes 22 days in June it flew to Austin, (4 Tuesdays and 4 Thursdays were in this June), bringing the average occupancy rate for Luftansa down to about 83% for June 2019.