Rockford airport sees slowest month in nearly a year

By Thomas V. Bona

BusinessRockford.com

Passenger totals at Chicago Rockford International Airport dropped more than 30 percent in July, reflecting a decline in service that mirrors nationwide trends.

Last month, 13,435 passengers flew in and out of the airport, the weakest month since September and the worst July since 2004.

Most of the drop was because airlines, hit by high fuel prices, cut service 24 percent year-over-year. Allegiant Air pulled back its summer schedule here to focus on shorter routes elsewhere. United Airlines ended its Denver route in June, replaced by Southern Skyways, which offered fewer seats.

Other airports in the country are losing even more service, as airlines ground planes instead of losing more money.

“It’s not catching us by surprise,” airport Executive Director Bob O’Brien said. “The reality is reductions in the airline industry — planes are going out fuller, but fewer people can afford to fly.”

Most flights in and out of Rockford were nearly full in July, other than on Southern Skyways’ Denver route, where they were typically only half full. Allegiant Air’s routes were on average 96 percent full, compared with 95 percent for the airline’s entire system.

“A corporate goal for the last six to 12 months has been to run the airline as full as possible, so pretty much all our markets are showing very high load factors,” said Robert Ashcroft, Allegiant’s vice president of planning. “The real issue is whether we can fill the flights at decent fares or not. Overall, RFD appears to be doing fine, which doesn’t mean we might not add or subtract frequencies on particular routes from RFD.”

For the year, the Rockford airport has seen 8 percent more passengers than last year, although its run for a single-year record could be in jeopardy. The airport drops from 10 outbound flights a week now to two for most of September. The airport will then have seven to 14 flights a week the rest of the year, as Allegiant adjusts its schedule to meet seasonal demand.

“We’ve come a long way from 1,400 passengers in 2002 to 217,000 in 2007,” O’Brien said. “We are always going to have bumps in the road, and this is a major bump.”

Reach staff writer Thomas V. Bona at 815-987-1343 or tbona@rrstar.com.

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