HARLINGEN — Passenger numbers remained strong at Valley International Airport in November, with 39,015 enplanements, a 22.2 percent increase compared to the same month last year.
The massive addition of seats in the market by Southwest Airlines begun last year continues to drive the numbers.
Southwest flew 25,133 passengers out of VIA in November, accounting for 64 percent of all passengers. It also marked a 58.5 percent increase for Southwest in enplanements compared to a year ago.
“There are just so many things that contribute to that it’s hard to pinpoint it on one particular item,” said Marv Esterly, director of aviation at VIA. “Southwest has increased its seats in the market and that sure was a big help.”
“With the airlines looking at the Rio Grande Valley, and particularly South Padre Island, as a leisure destination, we’ve seen more seats in the market,” he added. “Since the pandemic, airlines always thought business travel would come back slower. And they’ve really shifted to the leisure market, and it shows in those numbers.”
American Airlines put 6,487 passengers on its planes, accounting for 17 percent market share, and that was an increase of 23.3 percent compared to a year ago.
Minneapolis-based Sun Country Airlines has also increased its seats in the market, and enplaned 2,953 passengers, for 8 percent of the market share and a 70.7 percent increase over last year.
“Remember a couple of years back they decided to discontinue the service?” Esterly said. “Their customers just came back in droves, writing them and saying we need this service, and since that time they came back very strong and this year they came back earlier.”
“They were here in September when they used to start at the end of October,” he added.
United Airlines enplaned 4,442 passengers in November for 11 percent of the market. But those numbers are far below what the airline usually records at VIA and in fact are 19.9 percent lower than a year ago.
“United still has some issues with pilots and crew. And they’re an example of the opposite, where you have fewer seats in the market and that typically means fewer frequencies and seats and smaller planes, so passengers typically will look for another route,” Esterly said. “If they can’t get from Point A to Point B when they want to, they will look for another way to get there.”
“United is truly just a pilot and crew issue, and we’ve been talking with them. And they know they need to get back with larger aircrafts,” he added. “Hopefully, they’ll be able to take care of those issues and restore full service like they have before.”
The airport has just four airlines operating passenger service, down from a high of seven. Delta Air Lines flies seasonal flights in and out of VIA, but Frontier Airlines and Viva Aerobus have pulled out of the market completely.
