TIA revenue climbs to new record

TAMPA — Tampa International Airport saw a bump in passengers and a larger increase in revenue for its fiscal year, which ended in September. The airport, which just released numbers, experienced a 2.4% increase in passengers and a 7% increase in revenues during fiscal year, marking the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority's fourth year in a row of year-over-year growth.

For the full 2014 fiscal year, the airport served 17.33 million passengers, which represents a 2.4% increase over fiscal year 2013.

International seat capacity grew 20% and the airport handled almost 600,000 international passengers, a 13.7% increase, during the year. Tampa International Airport has now seen a 53.3% increase in international passenger traffic since 2010.

Some of the top contributing factors to the airport's overall passenger growth:
• Edelweiss Air saw its traffic increase by more than 44% during 2014 largely due to the addition of second weekly service.
• Copa Airlines served more than 32,000 passengers in Tampa during the first nine months of operation.
• Flights to Cuba increased by almost a third as a Santa Clara route was added.
• Delta added additional flights to Atlanta and Los Angeles.
• JetBlue added new service into Hartford, Conn., and additional service to Washington, D.C.
• Spirit added services to Minneapolis and additional flights to Detroit and Chicago.
• Canadian market carriers Air Canada and WestJet both had a very strong year in Tampa with 9.8% and 6% growth, respectively.

The strong passenger numbers had a direct impact on the aviation authority's financial picture as the fiscal year ended with a record $197.2 million in revenues, which was almost $13 million more than in the same time a year ago.

Revenue-generating highlights include:
• Parking and ground transportation revenues grew 9% due in part to a 2.7% increase in parking transactions.
• An 8% increase in food and beverage revenues as the average sales per enplaned passenger as well as overall passenger growth.
• The airport authority's car rental business, currently the ninth largest operation in the country, finished the year generating more than $38 million.

The strong financial performance resulted in $8.1 million being added to the airport authorities' cash reserves, funds, which will be used to pay for future capital programs or pay down debt.

Tampa International Airport's strong fourth-quarter finish showed large increases in passenger traffic during the last three months of the fiscal year, fueling anticipation that next year could be even stronger. The airport's operating revenues are expected to exceed $200 million in the fiscal year 2015, according to the budget approved airport authority board.