Written by Mike Perrault
The Desert Sun
Arthur Coates — a New Yorker — likes Palm Springs International Airport more than any other.
“You just can't beat the view when you step out into the terminal and see those mountains and sky,” Coates said.
From the resort feel to masses of back-to-back festivals, the lure of the valley coupled with savvy investments and travelers seeking a less frazzling experience has Palm Springs International flying high.
Many travelers are avoiding the hustle and bustle of large airports in favor of convenient “high-quality, more relaxing airports like ours,” said Tom Nolan, the airport's executive director.
During the first three months of 2012, airline passenger volume soared 19 percent year-over-year, the latest Desert Sun Economic Index shows.
Not since the third quarter of 1996 has airline passenger traffic climbed so much, according to the index that began in 1994.
Some 836,648 travelers — including 247,235 in March — passed through the airport from January through April. That's up from 711,264 during the same four-month period last year, airport officials said.
Several factors contributed to the success. The improving economy, favorable exchange rates for Canadians and the cost of crude oil are among a “universe of things we can't control,” Palm Springs City Manager David Ready said
But city and airport officials have taken steps to control the things that they can control: providing incentives to airlines, improving airport infrastructure, renovating the Palm Springs Convention Center and more.
Just more than half of the $1 million set aside for the Air Service Incentive Program has been spent to entice airlines to expand routes and service both seasonally and year-round, Nolan said.
Alaska Airlines received a $100,000 incentive late last year to help bring new nonstop flights to Mineta San Jose International Airport, while Virgin America Airline got $60,000.
Any airline that meets the criteria can qualify for the incentives, which carriers use to market and promote their new services and capacity
The airport has a new regional concourse, a remodeled courtyard and terminal, improved security features, an expanded car rental area, free wireless service and other features.
“We have put an enormous amount of capital investment into bringing the caliber and delivery of service up several notches,” Nolan said.
A new 150-foot-tall, nearly $25 million air traffic control tower is expected to operate by year's end once new technology and lighting is installed, Nolan said.
“The other leg of that stool is, ‘What product is it that we are selling?'” Ready said. “It's convenient, it has a sense of arrival, it makes you feel good when you go in and out of the airport, it's efficient, it's better for your travel experience.”
Ready believes improvements at the airport, convention center and especially a spate of hotel renovations helped persuade the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association to bring as many as 15,000 attendees here every two years, including this October.
At the same time, valley tourism officials are doing their part to attract new visitors, conventions and tour operators with a new ad campaign using videos, logos and the new moniker “Greater Palm Springs Oasis: A Brand New Day.”
Airlines expand service
Many large annual events such as the Coachella and Stagecoach music festivals have matured and brought national and world recognition to the valley, Nolan said.
“I think you're going to see it continue to grow, and the airlines will be responsive with service as demand dictates,” Nolan said.
Virgin America, which began serving of Palm Springs in December, announced in April that it will resume its seasonal daily flights on Oct. 18. It flies nonstop from San Francisco to Palm Springs with “same-plane” flights to and from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Abby Lunardina, a spokeswoman for San Francisco-based Virgin America, said the airline added capacity for the Coachella Music and Arts Festival.
Frontier Airlines began service in November to its hub in Denver, where its network connects to more than 80 cities.
And WestJet began new flights to Winnipeg, along with its other Canada routes to Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto and Vancouver.
Tim Ellis, general manager of Palm Mountain Resort in Palm Springs, said WestJet's direct flights have played a key role in attracting a record number of Canadians to his hotel and others across the valley.
Allegiant Air began nonstop service in October to Stockton. The airline's passenger numbers jumped 61.7 percent year-over-year in April when it carried 9,486 passengers.
Likewise, Horizon Air carried 7,204 passengers in April, a 74.3 percent gain from April 2011.
Last year, Palm Springs International's 66 employees handled 1. 5 million passengers, said airport commissioner Bob Elsner of Palm Springs.
Over the past decade, Palm Springs International has added nearly 5,000 domestic and international flights, the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported.
In 2010, there were 11,738 domestic and 671 international flights for a total of 12,409, federal officials reported.
The passenger surge comes despite the move on the part of many airlines to trim capacity whenever possible in the face of high fuel costs.
“(Airlines) are trying to weed out excess capacity where they have too many seats chasing too few passengers,” said Ed Martelle, a spokesman for American Airlines.
Paul McElroy, spokesman for Alaska Airlines, said he can't speak for the entire industry, but agrees “there's been much greater management of schedules, what we call capacity discipline — or not scheduling more flights than the demand really merits.”
Passengers, too, are watching their gasoline costs and other expenses, and some are willing to travel to Ontario or Los Angeles International for lower air fares.
Jeffrey Merrill said he flies to California from Des Moines, Iowa, at least eight times a year. Yet he has only flown into Palm Springs airport once in the past 12 visits.
“The reason: flights from Des Moines to Palm Springs are always higher priced than Des Moines to Los Angeles,” he said. “To make matters worse, the car rental prices are always much higher at Palm Springs, too. So I end up saving somewhere between $200 to $400 per trip by flying to LAX, renting a cheap car and then driving two hours out to Palm Springs and back, and that's including the cost of gasoline.”
Robert Kalin prefers to fly out of Palm Springs airport on regular trips to see his fiancée in Denver.
But the Palm Springs resident admits he'll search for lower fares out of Ontario International Airport. He figures he must save at least $150 on an Ontario fare to offset the cost of gas and parking.
Fewer travelers appear to be choosing Ontario International Airport, however.
Last year, 4.4 million travelers flew in and out of Ontario, federal authorities reported, down from 6.8 million in 2007. There has even been talk among managers at Ontario of closing one of its two terminals.
On Friday, Rep. Joe Baca, D-Rialto, introduced legislation giving the city of L.A. two months to transfer Ontario International to a local authority or risk losing its federal aviation funding.
Ontario International, along with LAX and Van Nuys airports, are owned by the Los Angeles city department called Los Angeles World Airports.
One reason some airports — particularly smaller ones — have seen a drop in passengers is because they primarily serve short-haul flights to destinations 300 or 400 miles away even as more passengers opt to drive rather than deal with security lines and issues, said Roy Williams, president of Roy A. Williams LLC, a Kentucky-based airport consulting firm.
Demand at airports is expected to skyrocket as more travelers from China and other emerging markets come to the U.S., said Scott White, president of the Greater Palm Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Officials with the U.S. Department of Commerce predict a 6 to 8 percent average annual growth in tourism over the next five years.
Nolan said the economy is always an issue.
“I don't think anyone can rest on their laurels,” Nolan said. “We have to stay focused and don't lose trace of the goal: continued tourism growth.”
Original story: http://www.mydesert.com
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