AIR SERVICE
After a long and arduous road through the coronavirus pandemic, the environment in the U.S. for airlines appears to have finally turned a corner. Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines are all looking to break even or generate positive cash flow in March.
In the United States, the first seven days of March are at 50.3% of last year's travelers. Four out of the seven days of March have had over one million passengers, and March 9 saw travelers at 69.3% of the same day last year. That is the highest percentage since the pandemic began. The trend is likely to continue as we approach spring break for different parts of the country in the next couple of weeks. January’s load factor at Palm Springs International Airport came in at 25%, while February welcomed a large jump to 40%. There is more good news, as PSP retained the highest percentage of seats in the periods of December 2019 – April 2020 versus December 2020 – April 2021.
The CVB continues to work with our airlines in supporting our existing flights. In February, we reinstated marketing in our direct flight markets and continue to share airline-specific presentations with unique data points to support additional routes and capacity. Ailevon Pacific, our air service consultants, also remain active with network route planners in seeking out new opportunities, both with existing carriers as well as those currently not servicing Palm Springs International Airport. They are also busy strategizing on air service from Canada this fall, as recent data and consumer sentiment point to a robust recovery in flights from Canada in fall and winter.
We are also seeing encouraging signs from the real estate sector as more people are moving to Greater Palm Springs and taking advantage of a hybrid work model, which will translate into more business travel and more opportunity for additional air service.
You can find information about PSP marketing, airlines, route information and other air service updates on our Partner Air Service page. The page is updated weekly.
Below is the latest data for PSP. Click HERE or the image below to view the multiple-page PDF report.
