SANTA ROSA ? Higher numbers of inbound flyers and an uptick in private aviation at?Charles M. Schulz?Sonoma County Airport, together with record airline passenger volume in 2012, point towards a deeper recovery for activity at the North Bay?s only commercial airport.
Commercial and private aviation are betting the recent growth will continue. Moves in that direction include?commitment?from the airport?s only airline,?Horizon Air, to an additional Los Angeles flight this summer and KaiserAir?s completed construction of a new hangar to serve private customers, according to Jon Stout, airport general manager.
That growth has captured the interest of other carriers, though Mr. Stout said that discussions will likely wait until the expected completion of the airport?s runway extension in July 2014.
?They really like our numbers, but they can?t service the runway with their current aircraft,? said Mr. Stout. Some carriers would have to leave seats empty or carry less fuel to take off or land at the runways? current lengths.
At 214,000 passengers moving through the airport, 2012 was the busiest year for commercial flying -since Horizon Air began operating there in 2007. Commercial traffic for the year beat the previous record set in 2011 by 3.2 percent.
More individuals flew into Santa Rosa in 2012, reflecting growth in tourism and other draws for visitors, Mr. Stout said. Roughly half the travelers were visiting the region from elsewhere, up from 42 percent in 2011.
More of those passengers were renting cars upon arrival as well, he said. Gross rental car revenue was up 11 percent through November ? the most recent data available ? compared with the same period in 2011.
There were 61,882 takeoffs or landings, or ?operations,? in the first nine months of 2012, up 3.7 percent versus the same period in 2011 and representing the most recent data available. Nearly 3,700 of those operations were commercial flights, up 3.8 percent, and 58,200 were private operations, up 3.6 percent.
While combined commercial and private activity is less than half the recent peak of nearly 135,000 operations in all of 2001, Mr. Stout said that the recent increase represents a continuing recovery for private and commercial air travel and a broader economic recovery in the region.
Growth in the wine industry has been a major source of activity for KaiserAir, according to Bronwyn Lindsay, assistant manager of the Oakland-based charter?s private terminal in Santa Rosa.
?When the recession hit, everything slowed down dramatically,? she said. ?Things are getting better, along with the economy.?
The KaiserAir facility ? one of two ?fixed-base operators? at the airport, along with Sonoma Jet Center ? added 28,000 square feet of new hangar space and began housing more corporate aircraft in 2012. The company also moved its maintenance operations from Oakland to Santa Rosa this year and has heavily marketed its chartered travel service.
Those corporate aircraft are traveling more frequently as well. Noncommercial sales of jet fuel, which powers vehicles including the largest private aircraft, rose 13 percent through November of last year, compared with the same period in 2011, according to Mr. Stout.
Corporate travelers are also looking towards opportunities after the runway expansion, a $53 million project required by new federal guidelines. After downsizing fleets and operating smaller aircraft during the recession, private travelers are looking to expand, according to Ms. Lindsay.
?With the expansion of the runway, larger aircraft will be able to land and come over to us,? she said.
Horizon Air, a subsidiary of Alaska Airlines, replaced a regular Las Vegas flight with service to San Diego in June. The market has proven to be a draw for Horizon, accounting for nearly 20 percent of passengers in the busy month of August.
Responding to a swell of interest, the Sonoma County Tourism Bureau has hired new staff to market the Sonoma County as a destination to Southern California residents, according to Mark Crabb, director of sales.
?The air service we have in that market is one of the reasons we?re so successful there,? he said.
Source: http://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/67420/santa-rosa-air-travel-in-2012-points-to-rising-economy/
Gary Collins bus driver uppercut Argo joe biden Alex Karras BCS Rankings 2012 the walking dead
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.