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Charleston’s only low-cost carrier will end service in early December. An AirTran spokesman said the airline did not have enough business travelers in Charleston to sustain its operations here. With the departure, officials expect an increase in fares among other airlines serving Charleston.
By Ashley Fletcher Frampton
aframpton@scbiznews.com
Published Oct. 9, 2009
AirTran Airways, Charleston’s only low-cost carrier, will end local service on Dec. 3.
The airline’s decision was prompted by the lack of business travelers, said Christopher White, an AirTran spokesman.
“The overall number of passengers has always been very good in Charleston,” White said. “But we were not able to capture enough business travelers.”
AirTran relies on the right mix of business and leisure travelers, White said. Leisure travelers typically book tickets in advance and at lower rates, making last-minute business passengers important to the airline’s business model.
“We’re constantly looking at our routes and our station, and even though the airport and the convention and visitors bureau and the local community have greatly supported AirTran, we are just not able to capture enough of the business traveling public,” White said.
AirTran has operated at the Charleston International Airport since May 2007 and has four daily flights to Atlanta.
The airline told local airport officials this week of its decision to leave.
“We have had discussion with them over the past several months about their concern that, despite good load factors, they weren’t able to make any money,” said David Jennings, chairman of the Charleston County Aviation Authority. “In fact, they say they are losing money.”
AirTran’s summer flights were about 80% full, Jennings said.
White said he could not talk about load factors — the percentage of available seats sold — but he said the airline also looks at passenger mix.
The economic slowdown has led some companies to cut back on business travel, or to cut it out altogether, White said.
He said AirTran would reconsider its operations in Charleston if conditions change.
Officials say the departure likely means that fares for other flights leaving Charleston International Airport will rise.
The Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce has said that AirTran’s presence has significantly reduced the cost of tickets on other airlines operating here. Chamber officials said this past spring that since AirTran began service in Charleston, the region collectively had saved an estimated $71 million in air travel costs.
The chamber had asked businesses to commit at least 20% of their air travel budgets to AirTran to ensure its continued presence in Charleston.
“I think it’s a reasonable assumption that AirTran leaving the market will cause prices to rise,” said Jennings, of the aviation authority. “But we are in constant contact with other low-cost carriers, and we are optimistic now that word is out that AirTran is interrupting service that what have heretofore been casual conversations with other carriers will get a little more serious.”
Reach Ashley Fletcher Frampton at 843-849-3129.
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