Piedmont Triad International Airport (PTIA) doesn’t have a complete set of passenger stats yet for 2023, which is quickly coming to an end.
But it does have numbers for all the months except December. So, airport officials have a pretty darn good idea as to how 2023 is shaping up. And the answer to that question is that, well, things are pretty darn good.
The most recent year-to-date statistics were presented at the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority at the board’s Tuesday, Dec. 19, meeting.
As has been the case since the end of the pandemic, passenger numbers at PTIA have been rising steadily. In the latest report, the number of passengers in and out of the airport increased 18 percent in November 2023 over November 2022.
As for the year to date, the number of passengers was up 12 percent – showing good solid growth.
PTIA still isn’t where it was before March of 2020 when COVID restrictions struck the airline industry with a vengeance, but PTIA is headed back toward those pre-pandemic levels and 2024 could be the year that the passenger stats break through the 2019 levels.
The number of passengers for November 2023 came in 11 percent under the number of passengers flying in and out of the airport in 2019.
Some other stats reported at the meeting this week were as follows:
• Cargo at the airport was down 17 percent in November 2023 over November 2022 – and down 19 percent year to date. Cargo for November 2023 vs. 2019 was up 20 percent.
• The total scheduled departing seats for February 2024 – whether booked or not – is 86,579, up 5 percent over February 2023.
• Load factor – the average percentage of airplane seats departing from PTIA that were filled with passengers – was 79 percent in September 2023. September’s load factor is 6 percentage points lower than September 2022 and 5 points higher than September 2019.
Ticket prices are much higher for PTI than CLT or RDU. The difference is enough to make the longer drive and nuisance worthwhile. Evidently PTI thinks it can charge more what with the Civil Rights Center being a big tourist destination and all.
You are right about the ticket prices. Furthermore, having to make a connecting flight makes it more likes for delays and missed flights. Try connecting from CLT to GSO on an evening flight – see how that works.
I mean, let’s be serious for a minute.
There is NO reason that a region with a combined population of 1,720,328 people should have commercial service that is comparable to a city that has half as many people. Take a look at our options, we only have 4 airlines. One of them (allegiant) only serves a few warm vacation destinations on a biweekly schedule with no connections.
The other 3 (United, Delta, American) offer less than a dozen destinations, mostly on cramped regional jets that hold 50-70 people. This is ridiculous. Raleigh offers 17 airlines and countless destinations, including international flights. Its bigger than us, sure, but not that much bigger… Charlotte is a hub for one of the biggest airlines in the world. We get ignored, and are forced to drive 1-2 hours for affordable flights or efficient connections. The true fact of the matter is that if everyone in Greensboro, High Point, and Winston didn’t drive to Raleigh, that airport would probably lose 40% of its passengers and half of its flights. The airlines are counting on us to go over there so they can economize. They do not want to serve our cities, because they are looking to save a buck.
To put our miserable commercial air experience in perspective, our combined statistical area region is more populous than OKC, Memphis, Louisville, New Orleans, and Buffalo. Do you think any of those cities have 4 airlines and less than a dozen destinations? The answer of course is NO. Our situation is unique, and quite lousy. I am happy we have great industrial growth at our airport, but something has to change to improve our commercial service.
More passengers will improve local services. When I used to fly, most of them originated at RDU or CLT; non-stoppers to many location, including Europe.
You are asking for connection problems if you do so.
I’ve noticed that Lots of cranky racists comment on these articles.
The airport is fantastic and is super easy to get in and out of for domestic or international flights. I would rather make a connecting flight from GSO than drive 75-90 minutes to get to another busy airport with traffic.
Racist? Please explain