Boardings soared at Albany airport but low capacity yielded higher fares
Passengers filled over 80% of seats in April after January flights weren’t even half full
What a difference four months can make.
In January, more than half the seats on planes leaving Albany International Airport were empty. The terminal was quiet, the parking garages empty and most concessions were closed.
April was a different story. The number of passengers surged since then, nearly tripling. Even as airlines added flights and switched to larger aircraft, those increases didn’t keep up with demand. Passengers filled more than 80 percent of available seats. Many reported packed planes.
“The terminal is getting busier,” observed Doug Myers, the long-time airport spokesman. “We’re seeing a lot of vacationers and families.”
For airlines, the news is good. Many had furloughed their employers and put much of their fleets in the equivalent of long-term parking.
The spread of vaccines has made the coronavirus less of a threat, and people are feeling safe about flying again.
People who haven’t flown in more than a year are traveling again. Jean Gagnon, who operates Plaza Travel in Latham, reports customers are flying domestically, visiting Florida, California and other places.
Some are going to the Bahamas, she added, even though they’re still required to test negatively for COVID -19.
And while the European Union plans to admit vaccinated travelers from the U.S. this summer, details haven’t yet been worked out. And countries including New Zealand, Australia and Japan aren’t any closer to opening their borders to U.S. citizens.
Airline capacity hasn’t kept up with
rising demand. The result is higher fares.
One Raleigh, N.C. resident grumbled that the cheapest fare he could find to Albany was more than $600 round trip. Pre-pandemic, that itinerary could cost as little as $98.
Rental car prices have also surged. One local resident would rent a car each summer to take on vacation, Gagnon said, typically paying $900 to $1,000 for the two-week rental. This year, the lowest rate was $1,579, and that wasn’t even the company he usually uses. That company, Gagnon said, wanted $2,263.
Airlines are adding service, but it isn’t like throwing a switch. Aircraft that have sat idle for more than a year need to be checked thoroughly, while pilots have to refresh their skills and knowledge of various procedures.
Jetblue is among the carriers at Albany increasing capacity, returning to the larger Airbus aircraft it used before downsizing to small regional jets during the lockdown, Myers said.
Meanwhile, Amtrak later this month will return to daily service on its long-distance network, including the Lake Shore Limited that serves Boston, Chicago and New York City from Albany. During the pandemic, long-distance trains operated just three days a week.
There too, engineers will have to reacquaint themselves with routes they haven’t traveled in more than a year. That was one reason given for the delay in restarting Amtrak’s Ethan Allen service to Rutland, Vt., and it will likely be required of engineers on the Adirondack services to Montreal. Both services now go no farther north than Albany, although the Ethan Allen will resume operating into Vermont July 19.
As for the Adirondack, Canada remains off-limits. There has been no movement to reopen the border with the U.S. to leisure travelers, and officials privately don’t expect that to happen until sometime this autumn.