The Biz Buzz - Sea-Tac fare increases below average

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Friday, July 25th, 2008

Posted by John Gillie @ 08:52:57 am

New figures from the federal government's Bureau of Transportation Statistics show Sea-Tac Airport passengers fared considerably better than average when it comes to fare increases.

The survey, which uses figures from the first quarter of 2008, show fares at Sea-Tac rose only .6 percent from the first quarter of 2007 and only 1.9 percent from the first quarter of 2001.

The national average from 2007 to 2008 was 4.4 percent but the national figure for the 2001 to 2008 period was a 4.6 drop.

Considering an even longer perspective, Sea-Tac ranked 76th of 85 domestic airports in average fare increases from 1995 to the first quarter of 2008. Sea-Tac fares rose 13.1 percent in the period. Nationwide, the average was a 21.4 percent increase.

At the top of the list was Lihue in Hawaii where average fares rose 102.5 percent since 1995.

Second was California's Burbank where fares were up 68.8 percent.

What the figures don't say, however, is how changes in the pattern of air traffic skew those figures. In 1995, most of Lihue's traffic was short hops to other islands. By 2008 the airport on Kauai had developed a considerable long-range business directly to the U.S. The same with Burbank. The suburban Los Angeles has many more transcontinental flights than in 1995.

In another statistical measure, Sea-Tac ranked in mid-pack at 38th among the 100 airports the BTS ranked for average fares. The average Sea-Tac fare was $345.39 in the first quarter of this year.

Cincinnati, a hub airport dominated by Delta Air Lines, the average of $535.32 topped the list. It was followed by four mid-sized airports, Greenville, South Carolina; Madison, Wis.; Knoxville, Tenn., and Grand Rapids, Mich.

At the bottom of the list for average fares was Atlantic City, N.J. where the average fare is only $108.71.

Note that the survey was based on prices during the first quarter of this year. Air fares are up considerably since then.

Categories: General, Aerospace, Tourism

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Marce Edwards is the business editor. She has been at The News Tribune for seven years and has written about technology and big businesses in the South Sound including Weyerhaeuser and Russell. Before moving to Tacoma, she worked at The Idaho Statesman in Boise. She is a Northwest native who likes to garden and refuses to use an umbrella. She lives in Tacoma with her husband and two kids.

C.R. Roberts is a Tacoma native. Before joining The News Tribune, he worked as a freelance writer and part-time cowhand on a cattle ranch in Northern Idaho. He writes about small business, personal finance and other business issues.

John Gillie writes about the aerospace and airline industries, commercial development and consumer issues. During his 30-year-tenure at The News Tribune he has covered issues as diverse as the Native American fishing rights disputes, crime and the courts, the wood products industry and energy. He lived in Tacoma with his family for 25 years, but now lives in Kent because his wife heads a five-state non-profit foundation headquartered in Ballard, and it only seemed a sensible compromise to make considering their workplaces are 40 miles apart.

Kelly Kearsley has been a business reporter at The News Tribune since 2005. She covers the Port of Tacoma and international trade. Being born and raised in Spokane she’s used to living in cities with inferiority complexes and, in fact, prefers it. Prior to working at The News Tribune, she spent three years as a reporter for The Bulletin in Bend, Oregon and another year working stints for The Associated Press and Seattle Times. She graduated from Pacific Lutheran University. She lives in Tacoma with her husband and miniature schnauzer.