Airport numbers continue to climb

Springfield-Branson National Airport posted its fourth consecutive month of year-over-year passenger number growth in August, officials announced Thursday.

The airport posted 73,499 passengers in August 2009, up 13 percent from last year's total. For the year, the airport is up 4 percent.

Kent Boyd, the airport's director of public information and marketing, offered tempered optimism. He noted that while August 2009 numbers were ahead of 2008, totals were still below numbers from 2005, 2006, and 2007.

"This vividly illustrates just how bad it was last year at this time," Boyd said in his blog. "So while things are good, we still have a lot of catching up to do. Or, to put it another way, the economy still has a lot of improving to do."

He noted that aviation industry leaders expect a weak fourth quarter - Delta, for example, expects per-seat revenue for each mile flown to be down 11 to 14 percent. Boyd also pointed to information from aviation business consultant The Boyd Group, which says the strength of the industry is directly tied to overall employment.

"Bottom line: Don't look for real improvement in the airline and airport industry until employment begins to rebound," Boyd wrote.