SFO traffic coming back to Earth

In 2008, SFO attracted more than 37 million passengers, mainly due to the international airport having more low-cost and carrier options than others. (AP)

S.F. AIRPORT — The once recession-resistant San Francisco International Airport ranked fourth in the world in passenger growth last year, but its terminals are not expected to be nearly as crowded through the rest of 2009, airport officials said.

SFO attracted more than 37 million passengers in 2008, a 4.5 percent increase from the previous year, according to preliminary numbers from Airports Council International. The growth was in stark contrast to passenger counts submitted by a majority of the world’s 30 largest airports, 16 of which posted declines as the global economy headed south toward late 2008, the report said.

Only international airports in Dubai, Rome and Charlotte, N.C. — which in recent years has ranked among the fastest growing cities in the U.S. — bested passenger traffic growth at SFO in 2008, the report said.

Chicago O’Hare International Airport reported an 8.9 percent decline in passenger traffic last year, the steepest of the bunch.

SFO’s success can be attributed to the airport’s recent influx of low-fare and international service, which has created competition among airlines and more pricing options for passengers, said Jim Lazarus, the senior vice president of public policy for the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce.

A weakened U.S. dollar last year also helped attract floods of European travelers to the Bay Area’s busiest airport, he said. During the first quarter of 2008, SFO’s international market grew by more than 6 percent, spokesman Mike McCarron said.

“The second factor was the increased expansion of service by [low-fare carriers] Southwest, Jet Blue and Virgin America,” he said.

An increasing presence by Virgin America, which made SFO its headquarters, has prompted the rehabilitation of the airport’s Terminal 2, which has not been used for nine years, according to airport officials.

Access to more flight options have attracted passengers away from neighboring Bay Area airports in Oakland and San Jose, Lazarus said. For a time, they also helped shield SFO from a whirlwind of negative economic forces that threatened to cripple the airline industry last summer, particularly when fuel costs soared, according to industry experts.

But the recession is expected to catch up with SFO this year.

Global demand for air travel has dropped dramatically as folks opt to vacation closer to home. Business travel to The City has also dropped significantly, according to the San Francisco Convention and Visitors’ Bureau.

SFO officials expect passenger traffic to drop 5 to 7 percent this year, McCarron said.

“All air travel is dependent upon economic growth as a whole,” he said. “As the economy grows both regionally and nationwide, so will SFO’s traffic.”

The world’s busiest airports

Total passenger traffic — arrivals and departures — in 2008:

Inside the terminals at SFO

65
U.S. cities offering direct service

23rd
Largest airport in the world

13th
Largest airport in the United States

Source: San Francisco International Airport

maldax@sfexaminer.com