http://www.miami-airport.com/html/av...kly_mess.html#

July 07, 2005

Updated State of the Airline Industry and Our Efforts to Adapt

In my January 31 message, I mentioned the Cost of Enplanement (CEP) difference between MIA and FLL, which the airlines use in determining which airport they will serve. Even though our cost is currently around $16.90 per passenger versus FLL’s lower $4.29 per passenger, this is just the beginning of the cost comparison. FLL is now recognized as the most congested airport in the nation (even worse than New York’s La Guardia Airport), as a result of their single jet runway. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) wants FLL to use their diagonal runway more for jet traffic, but local Broward officials are concerned about the increased noise. A proposal to extend their south runway to an air carrier runway is going through an environmental review and would not be available for about five or six years, at best, if approved. Delays at FLL are expected to get worse (to our advantage) during this period. The delays currently (especially in the winter) often reach up to one hour during the peak periods, which adds additional costs (remember the high cost of fuel) to the airlines as they hold for landing and takeoff. Our efficient, four-runway airfield and ramp control gives us a distinct advantage over FLL. We are now pointing out to the prospective LCCs that they should factor in “congestion costs” when they compare us to FLL.

New airline service is also being added. American Eagle is adding many new regional jet flights this summer from medium-size cities to MIA. Ted, the lower-fare division of United, is coming to MIA in September, replacing all United mainline service. Although not officially announced, we expect jetBlue Airways to add MIA next winter. We believe these changes will bring in more low-fare service and passengers.

In addition, the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) recently approved our Airline Incentive Program, which will waive certain aviation fees for up to one year for all new airline service. All of these factors are putting MIA back on the radar screen of many new and aggressive airlines that are ready to expand. We welcome their new flights in this turbulent period of commercial aviation.