Robert Sherwood was the only person in line to check his bag at the Delta ticket counter. The Georgia Military College history professor was also the only one in line at security screening.
"I have no problem flying out of Augusta," said the Milledgeville, Ga., man, who was beginning a five-day business trip to Rochester, N.Y. "I have to be there. The other option is to drive 19 hours."
And he would rather fly out of Augusta than drive to Atlanta to board a Delta jet headed to the Northeast.
Convenience, low fares and better airline reliability have drawn passengers to Augusta Regional Airport in numbers not seen since 2000, airport officials said.
As of Oct. 31, 170,182 passengers have departed from Augusta, putting the airport on pace to surpass 200,000 this year. The last time it was this busy was 2000, when there were 208,444 enplanements, according to Federal Aviation Administration data.
With the air travel industry being battered by fewer passengers, declining airline revenues and cutbacks in capacity through smaller aircraft or eliminating flights, Augusta is bucking the trend being felt by most airports, said Diane Johnston, Augusta's airport marketing director.
Savannah-Hilton Head International is on pace to finish this year with 150,000 fewer departures.
Columbia's airport is in its fourth year of passenger declines, down 8 percent from 2008. And 2008 had 160,000 fewer departures from its high point in 2005.
"We've increased the number of flights and the seats in our market," Ms. Johnston said. "Where a lot of airports are losing seats and losing service, we have been gaining because the airlines see passengers using us."
Delta now flies into Augusta 10 times a day, an increase in flights from a year ago. US Airways has six flights a day between Charlotte, N.C., and Augusta.
"We have been fortunate to see increased demand in Augusta year over year. And we have increased capacity accordingly," said Kent Landers, a Delta spokesman in Atlanta.
Any feeder airport in the Southeast with a loyal frequent flier population will max out between 10 to 12 flights a day, Mr. Landers explained. One of Delta's major destinations, New York City's LaGuardia airport, gets 16 flights a day.
Augusta has hit several bumps over the past decade: suffering the decline in travelers in the aftermath of 9/11, gaining a third airline and then losing it 18 months later, and working through the chaos of constructing a new terminal.
AUGUSTA'S TURNAROUND started in mid-2007 when US Airways' discounted airfares began to be noticed, Ms. Johnston said.
In 2006, only 134,000 people flew out of the airport, a hefty decline from the 208,000 in 2000.
"Our fares and our reliability were struggling for awhile," she said.
Dominoes started to fall, she explained, with US Airways increasing its market share, it started flying regional jets into Augusta and Delta lowered its prices to stay competitive. Airport officials were also targeting the unreliability of Delta's connection carrier, Atlantic Southeast Airlines.
Ms. Johnston said the airport had been battling the perception for years that flying Delta would get you stuck in Atlanta with canceled flights.
According to data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, more than 7 percent of ASA's flights into Augusta in 2005 were canceled. Also that year, the Delta connection carrier was responsible for 12 percent of the delayed flights.
In 2006, more than 4 percent of ASA's flights to Augusta were canceled and 13 percent delayed due to airline issues.
The cancellations dropped to 2.6 percent in 2007 and 1.6 percent in 2008. So far this year, the carrier has canceled only 2 percent of its flights from Atlanta.
Ms. Johnson said the reliability improvement is drawing business back to Delta. As of Oct. 31, ASA had 22 percent more passengers than last year, according to airport data.
"Some of the Delta passengers switched, but as ASA got better with on-time performance ... folks are giving them a second chance," Ms. Johnston said. "We're a Delta community. Delta's been here since the early '30s. People are loyal to them."
It hasn't won them all back, though.
Gina Piazza arrived in Augusta from a US Airways Express flight Wednesday. As a doctor and an emergency medicine professor at the Medical College of Georgia, she flies more than 20 times a year. She's been stranded in Atlanta by Delta in years past.
"I try to never fly Delta any more because of that problem," she said.
The reliability may be better, but she said she's not willing to take the chance.
"Reliability is what our business travelers are looking for," Ms. Johnston said. Charlotte does not suffer the same congestion of Atlanta and seems to have fewer weather delays.
US Airways Express is down 2 percent in its passengers for 2009.
"US Airways is happy with us regardless. They went from 20 percent of our market share to almost 40 percent," Ms. Johnston said.
"We have a good relationship with the airlines here. We view it as a partnership. We're only as successful as they are. We try to keep our fees to them as low as possible," said airport director Tammy Strange.
RETURNING TO A THREE airline market seems unlikely in this economic climate.
"This is a challenging time for any airport to attract a new airline ... but these numbers are the kind that could bring something in," Ms. Johnston said.
Augusta briefly had three airlines. Continental Express had a presence from 2003 to 2004 and passenger numbers increased while it was here.
"There was excitement in getting the new carrier by people who maybe didn't use the airport before," Ms. Johnston said.
But the numbers weren't good enough and the carrier pulled out after 18 months. It resulted in less competition, less service and higher fares from the remaining carriers.
"People were disenchanted. We were seeing record numbers of people go to other airports," Ms. Johnston said.
Getting Continental back is daunting, but not impossible, she said.
Airport staff is constantly trying to lure more business to the airport, but it has to be done smartly, thinking that the airline should do well in Augusta.
"If you bring in an airline and it doesn't do well, then it hurts your market," Ms. Johnston said.
The airport has a program to help lure airlines, discounted landing fees and marketing coffers to open for ad campaigns.
But airlines today are looking for subsidies, Ms. Strange said. Even free isn't good enough.
"They want airports to guarantee that if their flights don't hit certain revenue and passengers (numbers) that the airport will make up the difference," Ms. Johnston said. "We are not allowed legally by the federal government to subsidize an airline.
''Now, the city could. Airport money has to stay in airport development."
The more feasible scenario might be to persuade US Airways or Delta to open up one of its other hubs to Augusta -- bringing another city into play for the convenience of passengers, she said.
Major destinations for fliers from Augusta are New York City and Washington, D.C., both of which are serviced by Delta and US Airways.
Delta had an answer to that: "We do look at every opportunity to expand," Mr. Landers said. "But no hub can offer Augusta customers the breadth and wealth of service that's Atlanta ... in giving them access to the world."
THE MOST VISIBLE GROWTH that will be seen at the airport in the coming year is an expansion of the parking lots.
The increasing departures are resulting in the lot, and its two overflow lots, being full.
"It is a good problem to have, but a challenge for passengers," Ms. Strange said.
The lot has 400 spots in long-term parking and 230 in short-term. The overflow lots have 150 spaces.
Ms. Johnston said the new parking area will provide an extra 440 spaces, but will eliminate the overflow lots.
Expansion of the parking area is in the planning stages now, Ms. Strange said, but should be done in a year.
Reach Tim Rausch at (706) 823-3352 or timothy.rausch@augustachronicle.com.
THANKSGIVING IN THE BIG APPLE
Ticket price comparison for a round-trip flight leaving Nov. 25 and returning Dec. 1 for flights to New York City's LaGuardia airport.
Delta
From Augusta (with stop in Atlanta): $298
From Atlanta: $323
US Airways :
From Augusta (with stop in Charlotte): $314
From Charlotte: $233
FLYING HIGHER
Enplanements -- passengers boarding a flight -- from Augusta Regional Airport and other airports in the Southeast that Augusta uses for comparison.
KEY: AGS, Augusta Regional; CAE, Columbia; CHA, Chattanooga, Tenn.; GSP, Greenville/Spartanburg, S.C.
| YEAR | AGS | CAE | CHA | GSP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 208,444 | 607,228 | 300,746 | 788,807 |
| 2005 | 156,170 | 725,573 | 249,396 | 893,397 |
| 2006 | 134,716 | 633,835 | 246,893 | 756,490 |
| 2007 | 154,558 | 620,918 | 301,803 | 774,450 |
| 2008 | 176,097 | 565,938 | 300,796 | 699,805 |
| 2009 (to Sept.) | 151,624 | 391,080 | 237,389 | N/A |
Source: FAA
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