Airport Experience® News - ACDBE 2023

About Half of U.S. States/Territories Are Experiencing More TSA Throughput Than in 2019 Change (%) in TSA Checkpoint Volumes From Mar-2019 to Mar-2023

ME (12.9)

AK 4.9

VT (7.1)

NH (27.1)

WA (6.8)

MT 18.2

ND (14.1)

MN (8.3)

WI (13.5)

MI (8.3)

NY (8.3)

MA (4.1)

RI (19.6)

ID 13.8

WY 8.2

SD 17.4

IA (0.7)

IL (8.8)

IN (1.9)

OH (7.5)

PA (7.1)

NJ 2.7

CT 11.8

OR (5.5)

NV 8.1

CO 2.0

NE (6.9)

MO (2.6)

KY 0.6

WV (13.0)

MD (13.0)

DE

CA (9.1)

AZ 5.8

UT 6.3

KS (6.2)

AR 4.3

TN 18.5

VA 2.2

NC 5.8

DC 3.6

NM (3.6)

OK 1.4

LA (14.4)

MS 4.4

AL (5.1)

SC 12.9

PR 21.0

VI 16.3

TX 7.5

GA (0.5)

HI 1.3

FL 4.6

Source: Transportation Security Administration for travelers only (excludes Known Crewmembers)

In March, the FAA cut minimum flight requirements at congested airports in the New York area. Airlines are allowed to turn in up to 10% of their slots for the summer without the risk of losing the slots to other carriers. The FAA has also said it may delay some space launches this summer, a move that is expected to ease congestion in Florida and elsewhere. And last year, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg reported urged airlines to equip their planes so they can fly over water, particularly on routes between North Carolina and Florida. Airline Outlook Leading airlines in the U.S. have been positive in their outlook for the summer season and the year overall. “We are watching the macroeconomic risks carefully, but demand remains strong, especially internationally, where we are growing at twice the domestic rate,” United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said in announcing the carrier’s first quarter results. Ed Bastian, Delta Air Lines’ chief executive officer, said in its quarterly earnings report that the airline “expects to deliver record revenue,” in the quarter

ending June 30. Delta President Glen Hauenstein added that “with record advance bookings for the summer, we expect June quarter revenue to be 15 to 17 percent higher on capacity growth of 17 percent year over year.” Barry Biff le, president and CEO of Frontier Airlines said the carrier is “reshaping our capacity” to meet the needs of the post-pandemic travelers. He said there is “outsized demand on peak days and peak periods” to accommodate the shift. “While our overall capacity will be lower as a result of the shift to exploit the new demand dynamic, which will drive a corresponding unit cost impact, we believe our cost advantage … will widen further throughout the year, allowing Frontier to remain the lowest unit cost operator in the industry in spite of lower utilization on off-peak days and in off-peak periods,” Biffle said. As a group, airlines have adapted their schedules to ref lect the changing mix of passengers. Transportation Security Admini st rat ion data shows TSA checkpoint passenger volume off by as much as 10% midweek, when comparing 2022 to the 2017-2019 period. That compares to declines of less than 4% on

weekends. The data shows that airlines have adjusted schedules accordingly, curbing mid-week f lying more than weekend routes. The data also shows that about half of U.S. states are experiencing more TSA throughput than in 2019. Return To Profitability Financially, airlines are still struggling to rebound from the pandemic, but 2022 at least put them, as a group, back into the black. U.S. scheduled passenger airlines reported a 2022 after-tax net profit of $1.6 billion, gaining after two consecutive annual after-tax losses and a pre-tax operating profit of $7.9 billion, gaining after two consecutive annual pre-tax losses, according to the DOT’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics. The $1.6 billion in profit pales in comparison to the profits recorded by airlines in 2018 and 2019, at $11.8 billion and $14.7 billion respectively. Net income for the 25 schedules service passenger airlines came in at $1.8 billion in 2022. The carriers managed to eke out a combined $400 million net income the year prior, after a sharp dive into the red in 2020.

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