Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
XNA seeking solution to exorbitant fares
Business travel pushes price up
FAYETTEVILLE — The business of the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport remains primarily business commuters. That makes it one of the most expensive airports in the country for leisure flyers, but officials are still seeking low-cost carriers and lower fares.
Frances Mayo of Around the World Travel in Springdale said XNA fares are high, and that does have an impact on those traveling from Northwest Arkansas to other destinations. She said $100 difference is often the breaking point that sends travelers out of the area looking for cheaper flights.
“I totally agree that fares seem very high from XNA and in the last six months a greater percentage than the prior year are opting for other airports such as Tulsa or Fort Smith. I would estimate that approximately 20 percent of my spring break travelers are flying from Tulsa due to the lower fares,” Mayo said. “When you have a family of four traveling, a savings of $100-plus adds up pretty quickly. I have even had a few clients actually laugh when I quote them a fare because they think I am kidding.”
The airport is, in some ways, a victim of its own success as a business destination for those visiting Tyson Foods, J.B. Hunt Transport and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and its vendors. Airlines can charge more and business travelers will pay more because they have to travel to Northwest Arkansas. Airport officials say businesses travelers account for roughly 60 percent of traffic through the airport.
Scott Van Laningham, executive director at the airport, said average air fare is about $450, based on the latest data he has seen. The national average is about $350.
“Fares have actually come down a little,” Van Laningham said. “But remember, we don’t set the fares, the airlines do.”
Van Laningham said airlines increased capacity a couple years ago when traffic increased some 10 percent and fares dropped somewhat. But, they have not added more seats and bigger planes since then. XNA had 647,530 total enplanements last year, a 1 percent increase over 2014.
“Our capacity has remained roughly the same so I suspect that’s what’s driving the airfares staying pretty high,” Van Laningham said.
Four airlines, American, Delta, United and Allegiant, offer 15 destinations from the airport. The top destinations from Northwest Arkansas are New York, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Atlanta, Denver, Charlotte, Washington-Baltimore and Los Angeles. San Francisco was added last year.
Allegiant is considered a low-cost carrier that caters to tourist travel. Van Laningham said airport officials continue to talk with all the other low-cost carriers out there but “nobody’s ready to pull the trigger yet.” Allegiant offers year-round flights to Las Vegas and Orlando, Fla., and seasonal flights to Los Angeles.
Van Laningham said incentives or revenue guarantee packages could be offered to entice a low-cost carrier to the area.
Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport is able to retain more than 75 percent of the traffic from its draw area. The 25 percent “leakage” is primarily leisure traffic of those seek lower fares, he said. Travelers from the region not flying out of the regional airport go mostly to Tulsa with some going to Little Rock, Fort Smith or Branson, Mo.
Van Laningham said average fares have increased slightly at Tulsa, which could benefit XNA.
Rankings released in December by Travelmath.com show XNA ranked No 318 out of 322 airports nationally. While high fares played a role in that low ranking, Van Laningham said the rankings did not explain that the factors considered were operational issues with the airlines that are beyond the control of airport administrators.
The 2015 Travelmath.com Airport Rankings were determined from data gathered from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Airport data was gathered from Jan. 1 to Aug. 31, 2015. To determine the overall ranking, they looked at flight delays, cancellations, lost baggage claims and fare prices.
Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport had 3.62 percent of flights cancelled; 25.26 percent of flights were delayed, with the average delay being 12.7 minutes. Taxi time was 13 minutes and the average fare was $477.
A flight is considered delayed if its departure is 15 or more minutes past its scheduled time.
“When you have a family of four traveling, a savings of $100-plus adds up pretty quickly. I have even had a few clients actually laugh when I quote them a fare because they think I am kidding.”
— Frances Mayo, Around the World Travel