Atlantic City Intl Airport

By ERIK ORTIZ Press of A.C. Staff Writer | Tuesday, August 24, 2010

More passengers traveled through Atlantic City International Airport in the first half of this year than in any comparable period ever before, validating a need for the facility to expand its services and position itself as an airport of convenience in the region, transportation officials said.

Figures provided Tuesday by the South Jersey Transportation Authority, which operates the airport, show the scheduled passenger count was more than 688,000 from January through July, an increase of nearly 29 percent from 534,339 passengers in the first seven months of 2009. The airport began commercial service in 1985.

June saw a 12 percent rise: 71,933 scheduled passengers in 2009 versus 80,746 in 2010. Scheduled passengers are those booked on a commercial flight departing the airport, currently through either Spirit Airlines or AirTran Airways. Arriving passengers are not counted.

The increase came even though Spirit, Atlantic City International’s main carrier, canceled daily flights to and from the Egg Harbor Township-based airport for five days in June because its pilots walked off the job in a contract dispute. Hundreds of Spirit pilots eventually ratified a new five-year contract in July.

SJTA spokeswoman Sharon Gordon said Spirit canceled 161 flights at the airport in June, 156 of which were directly related to the strike. AirTran benefited from the cancellations, flying out of the airport with “100 percent” capacity, Gordon added.

Now, the airport is planning a new economic impact study following one conducted in 2007. That report said more than 360,000 visitors came to the region using the airport and spent $185 million at local businesses.

Airport use is expected to increase following a $25 million expansion of its terminal and the opening of a federal inspection station to be used for customs.

“Spirit has already indicated that when we include the federal inspection station, they are prepared to offer direct international service,” Gordon said.

While the airport has wanted to diversify its carriers, having two low-cost airlines does help attract travelers, SJTA officials said.

In the first quarter of 2010, Atlantic City International had the lowest fares of the top 100 U.S. airports by passenger count, with tickets costing an average $187.78, according to statistics from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

“The airport is easy to access, parking is just steps from the terminal, low-fare airlines make flying more affordable and the wait time from arrival to gate is minimal,” Bart Mueller, SJTA executive director, said in a statement.

But also helping its passenger numbers is that the airlines added more routes: Spirit began service to Boston last year and to Detroit in May, while AirTran began offering flights to Atlanta last year.

The airport did lose another carrier in May, WestJet, which ended service to Toronto because of low ticket sales.

Spirit, however, will add Chicago to its itinerary next spring.

While it is unclear how many passengers flying through Atlantic City International this year were local residents versus tourists, any surge in airport traffic will likely benefit the region, said Jeffrey Vasser, president of the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority.

His authority is in charge of marketing the resort, and he recently went to Boston to lure travel writers and bloggers to Atlantic City. A vibrant airport is pivotal to ensure tourists have faster access here, he added.

“We want them to say what a great trip Atlantic City was and how convenient it was to get there,” Vasser said.