Fewer Canadians flying out of Bellingham

The weak Canadian dollar is taking a bite out of Bellingham International Airport’s passenger figures as fewer Canadians cross the border into Washington state to catch a flight.

Last year, 417,930 people flew out of the Bellingham airport, down eight per cent from 2015, a five-year low. Between 2014 and 2015, the airport recorded a 16 per cent drop.

“The decrease has mostly been attributed to the weakened Canadian dollar relative to the U.S. dollar,” said Sunil Harman, director of aviation for the Port of Bellingham.

“We are a border airport, and the only low-cost alternative to YVR, so the Canadian passenger is very important.”

Instead, that budget-conscious Metro passenger is leaving from Vancouver and Abbotsford international airports.

Traditionally, Canadian travellers comprise up to 64 per cent of all passengers flying out of Bellingham. Harman estimates the figure at about 59 per cent for 2016.

The airport enjoyed a surge in passenger numbers over the last decade at a time when the Canadian dollar was near par, or at par, with the U.S. dollar and Canadians flocked south in pursuit of bargain fares to popular vacation spots like Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Hawaii.

Harm an said there have also been some changes in airline routes and frequency in the last year that may have affected its passenger figures.

Wendy Lanphear, a manager at Vancouver-based Travel Best Bets, said Bellingham airport was a popular choice for Metro Vancouver travellers a few years ago because it offered non-stop flights to Hawaii on Alaska Airlines and low-cost carrier Allegiant Air.

“Once they stopped flying direct, it definitely changed the travel habits of Canadians,” Lanphear said. “If you can’t fly conveniently or have the amount be significantly less, people will go out of Vancouver.”

The dollar hasn’t slowed down demand for popular U.S. destinations, she said. Canadians are still going on vacation south of the border, but are finding ways to cut costs.

The Port of Bellingham is projecting a two to three per cent drop in airport departure totals in 2017 assuming the Canadian dollar stays weak, Harman said.

Meanwhile, Abbotsford International Airport announced a recordsetting year in 2016 with 530,643 passengers, an 8.8-per-cent increase from 2015.

The airport flies to Canadian cities, which then serve as connections to destinations in the U.S. and Mexico. General manager Parm Sidhu chalked up last year’s increase to the arrival of new lowcost airline New-Leaf.