Paul Clinton
AIRPORT DISTRICT -- Passenger traffic increased by the slightest of
margins at Burbank airport in 1999 while the number of planes using the
facility dropped by 3.6% from the previous year, officials said.
A total of 4,731,656 passengers flew in or out of Burbank in 1999 -- a
negligible jump of .1% -- marking a fifth consecutive year of marginal
growth.
Burbank Airport hasn't seen significant numbers of new passengers
since a 500,000 increase from 1993 to 1994, airport spokesman Victor Gill
said.
"Right now the marketplace is somewhat flat," Gill said.
According to a report released by the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena
Airport Authority, four of the five commercial airlines -- American,
Alaska, America West and Southwest Airlines -- experienced slight
increases in their passenger counts in 1999. The largest jump was by
Southwest, which added 57,069 travelers. .
The marginal increases were offset of an 8% drop by United Airlines
and the departure of Reno Air, the report stated.
United spokesman Alan Wayne did not offer an explanation about his
company's decrease in service.
"I really couldn't comment," Wayne said. "We're a major operator at
Burbank and we'll continue to be."
The most significant period of growth at Burbank airport occurred in
the early 1990s. The airport, which serves only the western Unites
States, had 2.9-million passengers in 1989. In 1995, there were 4.9
million travelers, a total that has not been topped.
By comparison, Los Angeles International Airport averages about 62
million passengers each year.
While the number of passengers increased slightly in 1999, the number of flights at Burbank airport fell. Overall aircraft operations, a
category that includes passenger airlines, business jets and other
general aviation flights, dropped from 181,675 in 1998 to 174,984 in
1999, a 3.7% change. Specifically, passenger operations dropped 2.8%,
from 63,881 in 1998 to 62,095 last year.
Gill said the amount of cargo shipped in and out of the airport
increased by 4% in 1999. The significant cargo haulers -- Federal
Express, United Parcel Service, Ameriflight and the five passenger
airlines -- reported an increase of nearly four million pounds.
AIRPORT PASSENGERS
1998/1999
Alaska: 356,896/371,442
America West: 272,364/282,579
American: 107,201/107,211
Southwest: 3,088,889/3,145,958
United: 846,676/778,582
TOTALS: 4,731,656/4,736,293
PERCENTAGE INCREASE: 0.1%
