RDU Passenger, Flight Numbers Taking Flight
Business has not returned to the boom times of 2000. But more people are flying in and out of Raleigh-Durham International Airport these days, and the airlines are responding.
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A new airline, ExpressJet, will soon launch non-stop service to seven cities. A new flight will soon be heading daily to Denver from United Airlines. JetBlue is ramping up service to New York. American and American Eagle are adding destinations, and Delta recently launched non-stop service to Los Angeles.
“We’re definitely seeing a turnaround,” Hamlin said. “We’re still not where we were before Sept. 11 (2001). Still, we are supporting more flights and more passengers.”
RDU posted its third straight increase in annual passengers last year, up 1 percent from 9.3 million in 2005. The passenger number fell from a record 10.4 million in 2000 to a low of 7.9 million of 2003 following the terrorist attacks.
Airline competition also has kept travelers pretty evenly divided.
American and American Eagle led the way in 2006 with 23 percent of passengers. Delta and Delta Connection were second at 19 percent, followed by Southwest at 18 percent, US Airways/America West and US Airways Express at 16.5 percent, Continental and Continental Express at 7 percent, Northwest and Northwest Express at 6.5 percent, United Express at 5 percent, AirTran at 3 percent, Air Canada at 1 percent, and JetBlue at 0.47 percent.
RDU is in the midst of a $570 million renovation of Terminal C to add seven gates to its existing 25 gates to handle the growing number of flights and passengers. The new gates are expected to open next summer.
Passengers are finding more amenities at the airport, ranging from the recently opened XpressSpa to a Starbucks.
Not every statistic showed improvement, however. Air cargo and flight operations declined 2 percent each in 2006, according to the annual report.
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