American officials in St. Louis say the rebound is owed partly to the community's renewed faith in the airline and getting past frustrations over the elimination in 2003 of more than 200 flights."We have spent a great deal of time educating corporate accounts and travel agents. Telling them, 'We need your business," said Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge, managing director of St. Louis operations.
American's rebound is welcome news. While Lambert's passenger traffic remains several million below peak levels, its finances are stable, partly because American slowly has increased its flight schedule since 2003.
Last year, its St. Louis market share increased to 34.4 percent, from 31.4 percent in 2004, according to Lambert Field data. That doesn't include traffic on its affiliates, American Eagle and AmericanConnection, which also increased.
The airline has changed its operating schedule at Lambert to allow for connecting flights throughout the day, rather than just at peak times, Hamm-Niebruegge said. The 2005 rise in its connecting traffic -- up 49 percent to 450,600 passengers -- was more than airport officials expected.
Connecting traffic helps drive sales at Lambert's stores and restaurants, an important source of airport revenue, said Brian Kinsey, Lambert's business and marketing manager. Concessions account for nearly 30 percent of the airport's operating revenue.
American also has added back service or upgraded to big jets for some flights to New York, Boston, Los Angeles and San Francisco, to meet demand.
Overall, airlines boarded 7.4 million passengers last year at Lambert, a 10 percent increase over 2004. That reflects a national trend.
Lambert continues to be dominated by American and Southwest Airlines, which saw its market share at Lambert slip to 22.9 percent from 23.6 percent. Together, American and its affiliates, along with Southwest, board about three out of four passengers at Lambert.
Meanwhile, rivals such as Northwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines offer little immediate hope for increasing their market share at Lambert as they go through bankruptcy reorganizations.
Flying higher
Passenger traffic was up last year at Lambert Field, compared with 2004:
American 2.53 million up from 2.1 million (increase of 21%)
Southwest 1.69 million up from 1.58 million (increase of 7%)
All airlines 7.4 million up from 6.7 million (increase of 10%)
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