Numbers climb at XNA

HIGHFILL — Finally, a sense of normalcy.

Through its first 10 years

of operation, the Northwest

Arkansas Regional Airport

posted incredible numbers.

Passenger counts were con

stantly on the up, and the

Highfill-based facility

appeared invincible.

But reality took hold in a

big way to start 2009. XNA

not only saw its numbers

plummet, but heading into

the annual Wal-Mart

Shareholders Meeting here

in May, passenger counts

were down a whopping 18.17

percent year-to-date. It was

certainly a change, as the

once bustling terminal build

ing was eerily quiet. The

lines at ticket counters were

small to nonexistent, and

there were plenty of open

parking spaces in the pay

lots.

Even XNA was showing

signs of vulnerability in the

struggling national economy.

But a couple months ago, the

numbers all of a sudden

started climbing again.

"It's felt really good around here the last couple months," said Kelly Johnson, XNA director. "There's traffic.

People. It almost seems normal around here again. I'm as interested as anyone to see if the numbers keep climbing." And climb they have

In June, XNA saw 116,080 passengers pass through its doors, up from the 112,799 that flew in and out of the Highfill airport in June 2008.

It not only marked the first positive month-to-month ridership statistic recorded since last year, but also set an all-time record at XNA. The next highest monthly ridership total at XNA came in June 2006, when 115,705 passengers passed through the facility.

"The downturn in the economy last year, it really started to take its toll the beginning of this year," Johnson said. "The first three months were awful. People weren't traveling. We can't point to any one event that's caused the upturn, but Isense there's a little more confidence in the economy."

What's also helped, Johnson said, is ticket prices industrywide are down more than 19 percent from last summer. And that's continued to translate into more passengers at XNA.

XNA just received its July figures and, once again, month-to-month passenger counts are up. XNA saw 109,607 passengers pass through its doors in July, compared to 106,230 in July 2008.

"I'm not ready to call what we're seeing a trend just yet, but what I do know is, it's been a godsend for us," Johnson said.

Another significant contributor to the upward climb at XNA has been the addition of Allegiant Air, the airport's first low-cost carrier. Since starting service to both Los Angeles and Las Vegas from XNA this spring, Allegiant Air has been flying at 96 percent capacity, according to Johnson.

"They're very pleased with the community's response," Johnson said. "That's been a huge help."