RDU also has lowest average airfare of major airports in North Carolina
RDU Airport, N.C. – Was your plane full during your summer trip? We thought so! The summer travel season was incredibly busy at Raleigh-Durham International Airport with more travelers boarding planes than ever before. More than a half-million travelers boarded planes each of the past four months – the highest levels of monthly enplanements in 74 years of flight at RDU.
“It’s clear that more people are flying than ever before and we’re proud to connect our region with the people and places that matter most,” said Airport Authority President and CEO Michael Landguth. “We have great airline partners offering affordable airfares and nonstop flights to a growing number of destinations. We aren’t finished yet though. As we embark on Vision2040, the airport will be able to offer even more of what Triangle travelers want- exceptional flight choice and world-class airport facilities.”
RDU has the lowest average airfare among North Carolina’s nine commercial airports [with more than one airline]. The average airfare at RDU is $350.32, slightly below the national average of $351.85, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
Also, RDU set an all-time monthly record for enplanements in August, with 518,712 passengers boarding planes during the month. August marks the 42nd consecutive month of year-over-year increases in passenger numbers. Also, the load factor, the percentage of seats filled, reached 82.8 percent – the highest for August in the past 5 years and 1.5 percent fuller than at this point in 2016.
About the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority
The Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority and its 300 staff operates and manages Raleigh-Durham International Airport, the primary air travel gateway to central North Carolina. The airport served more than 11 million passengers in 2016, about 30,000 customers every day. RDU is home to more than 5,000 employees and contributes more than $8.5 billion and 20,000 jobs to the region’s economy each year. The Airport Authority has won the Triangle Business Journal’s Heathiest Employer of the Triangle for the past three years straight and in 2017 was named the best connected medium hub airport by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s International Center for Aviation.
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