Strong first and last quarters pushed 2013 passenger numbers at the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport up 1 percent over 2012, a trend that airport officials expect will accelerate tenfold in 2014.
The airport reported passenger departures of 823,494 and passenger arrivals of 818,594 for a total of 1.64 million passengers served in 2013.
“While our traffic was up slightly in 2013, we’re optimistic about even higher numbers in 2014,” said airport executive director Greg Kelly, adding that the last month of 2013 set the stage with 4 percent growth.
“With JetBlue starting service and with our other air carriers adding capacity, we’re poised for a much better year, with an expected 10 percent increase in traffic,” Kelly said.
Lori Lynah, director of marketing and air service development for the airport, said JetBlue was already making a difference.
“We had the best February on record this year,” Lynah said Wednesday.
Market share for airlines serving Savannah/Hilton Head International in 2013 was as follows:
• Delta Air Lines/Delta Connection, 51 percent
• US Airways, 28 percent
• United Airlines, 15 percent
• American Eagle, 6 percent
The airport finished the year with a load factor of 79 percent, a slight increase over 2012. Load factors, compiled monthly by the Air Transport Association, measure the percentage of available seats that are filled with passengers. A load factor of about 75 percent is considered the norm by most airlines.
In February, JetBlue Airways began service to Savannah/Hilton Head International with two daily flights to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and one daily flight to Boston’s Logan International.
Also in February, Delta Airlines started daily nonstop service to New York’s JFK Airport.
The Savannah airport currently has 43 daily flights offering non-stop service to Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Philadelphia, New York, and Washington, D.C.
For current flight information check the Airport’s website at www.savannahairport.com.