Tuesday, July 4, 2006 | 7:47 a.m.
RENO, Nev. - The number of passengers passing through Reno-Tahoe International Airport dropped nearly 10,000 in May from a year ago, reflecting a decrease in flights and industry cutbacks, officials said.
Airport officials said there were 1,000 fewer seats available to Reno travelers in May as airlines reduced flights and the size of aircraft on several routes.
Last year, the airport had 89 flights to 19 cities daily, compared with 83 flights to 18 cities this May.
"As airlines struggle financially to deal with high fuel costs, the number of airline seats in markets across the country is diminishing," airport Executive Director Krys Bart said in a prepared statement Monday.
"Less seats mean higher load factors all across the country, including right here in Reno."
The load factor is the percent of seats filled on flights, which hit a record in Reno for May of 80.3 percent. More filled seats means more revenue for airlines, but also can mean more difficulty for passengers booking travel.
Reno's 1.1 percent passenger decline is better than the 2.3 percent national drop in the number of people getting on domestic flights in May, reported by the Air Transport Association, which represents the major airlines.
So far this year, Reno passenger traffic is down 0.4 percent, compared with a 1.3 percent drop nationally, according to the airport and ATA.
The airport also set a record for cargo shipments for May, the 15th consecutive month of cargo growth. The 9.36 million pounds of cargo shipped during the month topped May 2005 by 13.3 percent, according to the airport.
"The continual growth in cargo activity is a clear indication of the robust economy in northern Nevada," Bart said.
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Information from: Reno Gazette-Journal, http://www.rgj.com
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