Passenger Volume at Airport Climbs Again : Burbank: Despite fewer commercial flights, the number of people flying has swelled by 1 million in three years--an increase of 34%.

For the third consecutive year, passenger volume at Burbank Airport has hit record levels, though the number of commercial flights and the airport’s profits continue to decline, according to an annual report released Monday.

During the fiscal year that ended June 30, the airport served 3.99 million passengers, up 5% from the previous year, the report said. The increase means that passenger rolls at the airport have swelled by 1 million in just three years--a remarkable growth of 34%.

But at the same time, fewer commercial jet flights served the airport than in the 1990-91 fiscal year, the second consecutive year the airport reported a traffic decline. The number of airline flights decreased 7.6%, dipping below 50,000 from nearly 60,000 two years ago.

Net income also declined for the second consecutive fiscal year, though not as sharply as the previous year.

Airport officials said passenger totals could rise while flights decreased because larger modern jets carry more passengers in fewer flights, and fewer seats are going empty.

Officials also credited the continued success of Southwest Airlines and its lower fares with attracting passengers during lean times. Victor Gill, chief spokesman for the airport, traced a direct relationship between the jump in passenger volume to the arrival of Southwest in April, 1990. After little more than a year, Burbank’s ridership shot up 26%, and the carrier now flies 57% of all airport passengers.

“We took off in terms of patronage in April of 1990 and never looked back,” Gill said. “That has absolutely made a big difference at Burbank Airport.”

Despite the rosy passenger numbers, profit dwindled by 4.7%, falling below last year’s $3-million mark to $2.86 million. The decrease continued the decline begun last year, when the airport recorded an 18% drop.

Gill said the drop came in part because of the outlay required to refinance the airport’s revenue bonds to capitalize on low interest rates. The report predicts the refinancing will eventually result in a net savings of $900,000.

With the steady growth of recent years, officials continue to project that the airport will serve 10 million passengers by 2010. To accommodate the increase, the airport authority will maintain its focus on developing a larger terminal, which it hopes to open in 1998, and may consider levying a “facility charge” on passengers in the coming year, the report said.

In recent months, the effort to develop a new terminal has been held up in court as the city of Los Angeles haggles with the airport over noise and pollution concerns. Airport officials hope to seal an environmental impact report for the new terminal soon, and will go ahead with plans to hire an outside company to oversee the development process through the end of the decade, Gill said.