TEXAS: The San Antonio Airport System, which takes in the San Antonio International Airport and Stinson Municipal Airport, reported net revenue of $40.1 million for the 2014 fiscal year, up 4.59 percent from 2013.
Frank Miller, the city’s aviation director, in an email attributed the uptick to “aggressive parking management during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays and a new revenue control system that provided better controls for the Aviation Department.”
Earnings from parking fees jumped 13 percent, to $22.7 million from $20.1 million in 2013.
Miller added that concession revenue was up as new restaurants and snack shops came on board with completed renovations to Terminal A. The aviation department also got a one-time, $1.4 million, right-of-way payment related to the Wurzbach Parkway project. Expenses were level year over year, he said.
The San Antonio Airport System saw a record 8.4 million passengers in 2014, up 1.76 percent over the 8.3 million seen in 2013. 2014 traffic exceeded the previous record set in 2007, when 8,075,437 passengers used the airport. The Great Recession in 2009 sent traffic plummeting by 6.25 percent, to 7.8 million from 8.4 million in 2008.
Total self-generated revenue, including from concessions, parking, tenant rentals and user fees totaled $91 million, a 1.92 percent increase from 2013. While revenue from airlines fell 0.82 percent, non-airline revenue rose 7.86 percent.
That non-airline category included a steep, 93.2 percent, climb in revenue from passenger loading bridges, or jetways — to $376,732 from $194,997 in 2013.
The airport system reduced spending by 12 percent on ground maintenance, by 12 percent on custodial and terminal services, and by 11.5 percent on fleet maintenance. Operations expenses rose 9 percent. Overall, year-over-year operating and maintenance expenses fell a scant 0.10 percent.
San Antonio International Airport saw a record 8.4 million passengers in 2014, surpassing the record of 8,075,437 set in 2007. It was a 1.76 percent increase over the 8.3 million in 2013.
It was a continuation of the gradual rebound since the Great Recession, which took a toll on passenger traffic. In 2009, passenger traffic fell to 7,838,221 from 8,358,515 in 2009, a 6.25 percent drop.
The annual report, entitled “Customers First in All We Do,” touted a busy year of added destinations, started as well as completed projects, and accolades for overall improvement and customer service.
The added flights included American and Delta flights to Los Angeles, American service to Miami, Southwest (via the merger with AIRTRAN) service to Mexico City, Southwest service to New Orleans and Cancún, Mexico, and VivaAerobús service to Monterrey, Mexico.
The airport celebrated completion of a $35.6 million modernization project for Terminal A and started work on a $165.6 million garage and rental facility that is set to open to the first customers in 2017.
Officials said the airport scored 4.33 out 5 in the Airport Council International Airport Satisfaction Quality survey, which measures customer satisfaction. Its “pups and planes” initiative, which uses therapeutic dogs to calm travelers, won third place among customer services initiative programs. The “Wings Academy,” which exposes at-risk youth to aviation careers, took third place in the aviation education and tour programs category.
“Like the city, the San Antonio Airport System made major strides to improve its financial strength, infrastructure and services to enhance the customer experience during 2014,” City Manager Sheryl Sculley said.
