WA System Plan Chapter 5

Washington Aviation System Plan, July 1, 2009 Page 103 CHAPTER 5: AVIATION TRENDS Introduction In many instances, commercial service and general aviation trends occurring at Washington’s airports are reflective of industry-wide developments affecting aviation patterns across the country. It is therefore useful to put statewide trends into a national context. An overview of national commercial service trends and general aviation trends is presented below, together with a discussion of trends within Washington State. Current Commercial Service Trends Since 2000, the U.S. airline industry has experienced extreme volatility resulting from factors including dramatic changes in airport security, high and volatile fuel prices, increased competition by low cost carriers, massive financial losses, economic uncertainty, and operational and organizational restructuring in the attempt to restore profitability. Changes that have impacted the national airline industry explain in part recent developments in airline services at the state’s commercial airports. An understanding of commercial service trends is important in order for the State to anticipate changes that may affect the future pattern of airline services at Washington airports. National Commercial Service Trends U.S. Airlines Suffer Unprecedented Financial Losses U.S. airlines suffered unprecedented financial losses from 2001 through 2005. The major U.S. passenger airlines (those carriers with greater than $1 billion in annual operating revenue) incurred $27 billion in cumulative operating losses over the five-year period and have undergone a process of extensive financial and operational restructuring in an effort to restore profitability and achieve long-term viability. U.S. airlines only recently returned to profitability in 2006 (Exhibit…

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Call to order – Roll Call – Quorum Established – Land Acknowledgement We would like to acknowledge that our Agency operates in four present-day counties, which are the traditional lands of the Coast Salish people, past and present. This acknowledgement does not take the place of authentic relationships with indigenous communities in our jurisdiction and [...]