08/22/2014

Five Consecutive Months of Total Enplanement Growth

May 28, 2014 — CVG continues to see increases in passenger enplanements and cargo tonnage.  Positive trends in local enplanements and cargo tonnage are the largest and most consistent they have been since 2007.

Based on April 2014 statistics, total enplanements at CVG improved year-over-year by 2.7 % marking the fifth consecutive month of passenger growth at the region’s largest commercial airport. 

Improvements in CVG passenger traffic started in March 2013 with the announcement of new low cost carrier service by Frontier Airlines to Denver.  Since then, Frontier has doubled the number of flights to Denver, added service to Trenton, New Jersey and just this week announced new service to Washington, D.C. Dulles International Airport.  CVG also secured new low cost service from Allegiant Airlines with non-stop service to Fort Myers/Punta Gorda, Tampa Bay/St. Pete, Orlando/Sanford and Myrtle Beach.

“Three years ago, we set out on a mission to diversify the carrier offering available from CVG with the objective of growing our customer base and making affordable pricing options available.” said Candace McGraw, chief executive officer, CVG.  “We are now seeing the positive results of those efforts.”

A number of airlines are experiencing passenger growth. Based on year-over-year numbers, American Airlines enplanements grew by 13.8%; United Airlines by 17.5%; US Airways by 5.8%; and Air Canada by 47.3%.  Delta enplanement levels have also stabilized and local enplanements are improving in many of the markets they serve.

Cargo continues to be an energizing force for CVG.  Cargo tonnage is growing with the expansion of the DHL hub.  Cargo has improved 9.1% year over year. Monthly tonnage volumes have increased year-over-year in 46 of the last 48 months and since 2010, tonnage has increased 130%.  This growth comes as a result of more than $105 million in capital development by DHL over the last several years that employ more than 2,300 staff at their CVG hub. 

“The evolution of CVG into a multi-carrier, multi-use airport operation with focus on serving the tri-state community continues to show great progress”, said Wm. T. (Bill) Robinson III, Kenton County Airport Board Chairman.  “Momentum is a powerful ingredient when dealing with positive economic development initiatives.  The Cincinnati / Northern Kentucky region certainly has a great story to tell and people are listening.  The airports’ role in the overall growth and economic vitality of our region cannot be overstated.” 

CVG now provides service to 53 non-stop destinations and averages more than 170 peak day departures operated by 10 different carriers, more than any other airport in the tri-state region.  CVG also provides the only non-stop service to Europe from any airport in Ohio, Kentucky or Indiana.