Bob Hope Airport sees a bump in passengers

The number of passengers traveling through Bob Hope Airport rose by 5.2% in March compared to the same month last year, beating budget projections by the same amount, according to airfield officials.

There were 337,432 passengers in March, compared to 320,787 in March 2014, according to a report released Monday by the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority. It’s the second straight increase in passenger numbers after declines of less than 2% in both December and January.

It’s also the third time the passenger count has been up by more than 5% in the past seven months, with last September and October coming in higher. Prior to last September, February 2008 was the last time the airport reported such a rise in passenger traffic.

For the year, so far, the number of passengers is up 2% from where it stood after the first three months of 2014, with a total of 919,137 passengers, compared to 901,596 passengers a year ago.

Southwest Airlines, the largest carrier serving the airfield, saw a hike in passenger traffic of 5.5%, or more than 13,000 passengers, last month compared to March 2014, helping to drive the overall increase at the airfield, said Dan Feger, the airport’s executive director.

“I think for our major carrier showing a 5% increase, that is a substantial change in what’s happening,” he said, attributing the increased passenger activity to what equalized fares throughout the region.

“You’re starting to see that the Los Angeles Basin, as a whole, is a market,” Feger added. “I think that will help us going forward.”

United Airlines, Alaska Airlines and Commuter air carrier SeaPort Airlines also each grew their passenger counts during the period.

March passenger traffic was down nearly 19%, roughly 3,200 passengers, on U.S. Airways, compared to the same month last year. JetBlue Airlines reported a dip — by a little less than 200 passengers — compared to March 2014.

Passenger traffic on Delta Air Lines continued a trend over several months of decreasing numbers, down 8.7% in March— about 600 passengers — compared to the same month a year ago. That follows declines in December, January and February of roughly 10% or more.

Parking revenues in March increased 2.8% and beat the airport’s budget projections for the month by more than $75,000. Parking fees generated more than $1.7 million, up from roughly $1.66 million in March 2014.

Parking activity in terms of the number of tickets issued, as opposed to fees generated, was up 7.2% in March, compared to the same time last year.

Feger attributed the difference between the dollar-value increase and the activity increase to hundreds of $3 fees charged daily to drivers of ride-share vehicles such as Uber, Lyft and Sidecar when they pick up passengers from the airfield’s short-term parking structure.

Other airports in the region reported varying passenger tallies for March. The number of travelers at Los Angeles International Airport rose by 4.2%. There was also a 7.2% hike at John Wayne Airport in Orange County, and a 1.8% increase at Ontario International Airport. Long Beach Airport saw a 9.6% decrease for the month.