Evidence that British Columbians are putting off vacations in the U.S. can be found in the falling passenger numbers at Bellingham International Airport (BLI).
The airport’s passenger count dropped 14.5% in the first half of 2015 compared with the same timeframe a year ago, according to numbers that BLI provided to Business in Vancouver.
Last year, the airport suffered its first annual drop in passengers in more than a decade – a 9.6% dip to 537,961.
The airport, which is a one-hour drive south of Vancouver, is a hub for domestic flights to other U.S. cities because of lower fares and parking rates. More than half of the airports passengers are estimated to be Canadian.
That’s why its passenger counts is a good barometer for whether British Columbians are putting off U.S. vacations.
The year-over-year drop in passengers in June was the steepest monthly drop this year, according to BLI statistics.
The airport counted 31,673 passengers in June, down 30.6% compared with the 45,671 passengers in the same month in 2014.
“There’s definitely a relationship between the Canadian dollar exchange rate and the number of passengers who fly out of here,” said BLI’s public affairs administrator Mike Hogan. “But, there’re other factors too. There’s also consolidation in the airline industry.
One blow for the airport is that Frontier Airlines decided not to offer any flights out of Bellingham this year.
It had offered seasonal nonstop service between Bellingham and Denver from May through September in each of the past three years.
Allegiant and Alaska Airlines have also each reduced flights out of BLI.
One strategy that the airport plans to employ to lure Canadians south is even cheaper parking than the relatively inexpensive current rates, which range between US$5 and US$12 per day.
“We’re going to reduce the US$12 rate in the lot closest to the terminal in non-busy months when demand is low, such as now,” Hogan said. “The new rate is not in effect yet and I’m not sure exactly when it will start.”
