Trade group Airlines for America (A4A) today released its annual forecast for the 12-day Thanksgiving holiday travel period, predicting that 28.5 million passengers will travel on U.S. airlines, up 3 percent. The group said airlines are accommodating the expected increase in demand by adding 86,000 more seats in the marketplace each day, a 3.2 percent increase over 2016. The 2017 Thanksgiving air-travel period runs from Friday, Nov. 17 through Tuesday, Nov. 28, with the busiest day projected to be Sunday, Nov. 26, with an estimated 2.88 million passengers.
In a conference call update, A4A also reiterated its opposition to an increase in the Passenger Facility Charge currently under consideration by Congress. Sharon Pinkerton, A4A senior vice president of legislative and regulatory policy, pointed to the availability of $14.42 billion in the Airport & Airway Trust Fund last year, including $5.85 billion in un-obligated funds. That and other funding mechanisms mean that airports “have many, many tools in the toolbox.
“We are supportive of airport infrastructure improvements,” Pinkerton said. “Both big and small airports are busy doing construction projects right now, which we support. What we don’t support, because it is not needed, is an almost doubling of the PFC tax.”
Airport industry trade groups, including Airports Council International-North America and the American Association of Airport Executives, have consistently lobbied in favor of an increase to or elimination of the PFC cap.
A4A also summarized the performance of the airline industry so far this year. During the first nine months of 2017, nine publicly traded U.S. passenger carriers reported a combined pre-tax profit of $14.7 billion, resulting in a margin of 12 percent – down from $18.4 billion and 15.5 percent, respectively, in the first nine months of 2016. Although revenues for the group rose 3.8 percent, expenses rose further, up 8.1 percent.
John Heimlich, vice president and chief economist at A4A, noted the continuing airline profitability and the “symbiotic relationship” between profits and investments in airports. “As [airline] finances improve more capital projects are possible and underway,” he said.
