Resurrection of Travel Industry in Northeastern Oklahoma Determined by Air Travel Industry

A travel industry resurgence may be under way in northeastern Oklahoma and throughout the country, officials say.

Whether encouraged by the rebound in the stock market, the abundance of vacation bargains or the arrival of warm weather, people appear primed for travel.

“We’re definitely on an uptick. Our booking agents are busy, busy, busy,” said Gary Spears, chief financial officer of Spears Travel/Travel Leaders’ offices in Tulsa and Bartlesville. “People are booking further out, upgrading rooms and planning bigger, longer, better trips.”

After the Wall Street collapse in the fall of 2008, the U.S. travel industry went into a slump reminiscent of its plunge following 9/11, industry executives said.

Throughout 2009, the travel industry mirrored a sick economy. Airline passenger traffic dropped by double digits at the major carriers and airports, while hotel vacancy rates soared and prices fell.

But in March, there were signs attitudes may be changing — or that pent-up demand for travel is about to burst, industry officials said.

At Tulsa International Airport last month, airline passenger traffic totaled 230,365 travelers, a 4.6 percent increase from March 2009 and the first such increase since December 2008.

“Travel agents said earlier this year that bookings were high,” said Alexis Higgins, director of marketing for the Tulsa Airport Authority. “This may be an indication that people are more confident about the economy. I think it also may be because
people haven’t traveled in a while and they’re ready for some relaxation.”

Increased traffic at Tulsa International is reflected in the rise in activity at American Airlines, which operates 16 flights a day in Tulsa and boarded 85.7 million passengers in 2009, second only to Southwest Airlines’ 101.3 million.

Throughout most of 2009, American’s passenger traffic dropped by double digits or high-single digits compared with a year earlier.

In March, American flew 10.58 billion revenue passenger miles, a 2.5 percent increase compared with March 2009, on a capacity drop of 0.7 percent, company executives said. A revenue passenger mile is flying one paying passenger one mile.

Southwest Airlines in March flew 6.67 billion revenue passenger miles, a 0.4 percent increase from March 2009, on a capacity drop of 4.2 percent.

Delta Air Lines, which after its merger with Northwest Airlines is the nation’s largest carrier, flew 16.07 billion revenue passenger miles in March, a 3 percent increase, on a capacity decline of 1.6 percent.

The Air Transport Association reported that U.S. airline passenger revenue rose 4.5 percent in February, the latest month for which figures are available, compared with February 2009. It was the second consecutive month of revenue growth, ATA said.

“The growth in passenger revenue and cargo traffic is a reflection of growing consumer confidence in a recovering economy,” said ATA President and CEO James C. May.

Annually, U.S. commercial aviation drives more than $1 trillion in U.S. economic activity and nearly 11 million jobs, ATA says.

Although the March numbers have been compiled at AAA-Oklahoma, preliminary statistics mirror what is being seen elsewhere in the travel economy, said spokesman Chuck Mai.

“The month-over-month March increase has been very welcome news and a bigger increase than expected,” Mai said. “There are some signs the economy is coming out of its doldrums.

“A lot of the economy is mindset — and optimism can be contagious.”