Wichita Mid-Continent Airport Continues to Set Passenger Records!

Demand for air travel at Wichita Mid-Continent Airport continues to set passenger traffic records. For the first quarter of 2008, passenger traffic is up 12.67% over 2007, and March was the 18th consecutive month of increased passenger traffic at ICT. March 2008 was the busiest March on record, with a total of 142,259 passengers.

ICT finished 2007 with a record 1,596,229 total passengers, an increase of 9.31% over 2006, or about 12,000 more passengers per month than in 2006. This compares to a national average of 3.2% (Bureau of Transportation Statistics).

The airport has aggressively worked to improve its air service this past year, and introduced several air service enhancements to the market. Allegiant Air began nonstop service to Orlando-Sanford in May, nonstop service to LAX began in July with ExpressJet d/b/a Delta and then United Express in September, and Frontier Airlines began service in October, lowering fares to Denver and the west. Nonstop service to Detroit on Northwest Airlink will begin May 2, 2008.

The growth in passenger traffic actually began in October 2006, well before the air service enhancements took effect. The presence of AirTran Airways keeping pressure on eastern fares is a major factor for this growth, along with the low fares to Las Vegas on Allegiant Air. With western fares now more competitive due to the entrance of Frontier Airlines in October, passenger traffic is soaring. A strong Kansas economy is also credited for much of this growth.

“We have always believed our market is much bigger than the traffic that Mid-Continent Airport has attracted in the past, and now with the mix of nonstop destinations and affordable fares, passengers are responding in record numbers. While we are very pleased with this growth, we are also very aware of the current state of the airline industry, and are working hard to maintain the fine air service currently at ICT,” commented Valerie Wise, Air service and Business Development Manager.

Mid-Continent Airport serves 13 nonstop destinations on 13 airlines: AirTran Airways, Allegiant Air, American Airlines, American Eagle, Chautauqua Airlines, Atlantic Southeast Airlines, Continental Express, Frontier Express, Northwest Airlink, TransStates Airlines, United Airlines, United Express, and US Airways Express.
Source: Wichita Mid-Continent Airport

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