The Stories that Shaped 2009 No. 3: Changes in the Air

Air travelers in southwest Missouri can look back on 2009 as the year of new beginnings. In Springfield, the long-awaited midfield terminal opened for travelers May 6, while the $155 million Branson Airport opened five days later.

For southwest Missouri air travelers looking for more options, 2009 will be remembered as a good year with the opening of the new airport in Branson.

Benefits in Branson

The privately developed airport, touted as the first of its kind in the country, opened with four direct destinations - Atlanta, Minneapolis, Milwaukee and Dallas - through AirTran Airways and Sun Country Airlines.

Branson airport officials have said they expect 250,000 passengers annually to use the facility, which can accommodate planes ranging from small regional jets to a Boeing 767.

While officials have been tight-lipped thus far about exact traveler numbers, the flight schedules to and from the Branson facility have been somewhat turbulent in its first months.

AirTran expanded its service to Atlanta in July, at the same time the airline was cutting its service to Milwaukee as part of a companywide service reduction, and added service to Orlando Dec. 19, while Sun Country stopped service to Branson Dec. 7.

Airport Director Jeff Bourk told SBJ earlier this month that the Sun Country changes were expected.

"Sun Country is a seasonal service, and it was always intended to be seasonal," Bourk said.

The airport also got a boost from holiday season charter service from Shreveport, La., and Rockford, Ill., through ExpressJet Airlines.

SGF against the grain

Springfield-Branson National Airport's $117 million terminal, a response to years of growth and an old terminal building that was at capacity without room for expansion, took almost exactly three years to build.

The Springfield terminal opened about the same time the airport saw a bump in passenger numbers, though airport officials say the two events are not directly related.

After watching numbers drop for each of the first four months of the year compared to 2008, traveler numbers jumped 17 percent in May compared to the previous year. Through October, passenger numbers are up 5 percent for the year as Springfield continues to buck the national air travel trend. All 10 of the nation's largest airports are down for the year, and total North American domestic air travel is down 7 percent for the year, according to trade organization Airports Council International.

Springfield airport officials have attributed much of that passenger growth to the success and expansion of service from Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air.

In February, the low-cost carrier added Los Angeles to its list of nonstop destinations from Springfield, with flights beginning just days before the new terminal opened. Allegiant's other destinations out of Springfield include Orlando and St. Petersburg, Fla.; Las Vegas; and Phoenix.

Allegiant has carried more than 22 percent of total passengers in and out of Springfield this year, second only to American Airlines. Springfield airport spokesman Kent Boyd told Springfield Business Journal in September that the carrier was flying as many as 17 150-seat jets a week to and from Springfield, many at full capacity.

"They have changed the complexion of the Springfield air market," he said.

Not all news has been positive in Springfield, however, as the airport has felt the sting of industry consolidation and overall economic malaise.

The airport lost service to Detroit in May and to Minneapolis twice during the year, fallout from the merger between Delta and Northwest Airlines - both of which served Springfield.[[In-content Ad]]