RDU Airport, NC – The Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority today released passenger numbers for November. While the number of passengers traveling through RDU was down, airport officials also announced new air service that will launch in spring 2009, including additional non-stop service to Boston.

The number of passengers traveling through RDU in November declined by 14 percent compared with the same month last year. Year-to-date, passenger traffic is down 3 percent compared to the same period last year. A total of 725,389 passengers traveled through RDU in November compared to 845,647 passengers in November 2007.

The decline in traffic began in June when airlines began reducing schedules nationwide in response to record high fuel costs.

“We anticipated that the number of passengers traveling through RDU would continue to decline given the state of the economy and airline capacity changes,” said RDU Airport Director John Brantley. “We will enter 2009 with cautious optimism given the current economic climate, while also looking forward to new air service that will begin in the spring.”

Since November 2007, airlines serving RDU have decreased the number of seats available to passengers by 14 percent. In response, Airport Authority staff has identified ways to reduce operating costs, including freezing open staff positions and limiting non-essential purchases.

“Airlines continue to make changes to their schedules in response to economic factors and passenger demand,” said Teresa Damiano, director of marketing for the Airport Authority. “While we have seen frequencies reduced, airlines are also putting in service where demand is high.”

Earlier this week, JetBlue Airlines announced it will add one daily non-stop flight to Boston in May, bringing to two the number of flights the airline offers to the popular business destination.

In November, Delta Air Lines announced it will begin non-stop service to Paris in June. The flight will be RDU’s third international flight. American Airlines currently offers service to London Heathrow, while Air Canada offers three daily flights to Toronto.

Southwest Airlines also announced that it will add one frequency each to Las Vegas and Orlando in March and one frequency each to Chicago and Nashville in May. The four frequencies were reduced in January but are being reinstated in the spring schedule.

Currently, airlines offer nearly 200 daily departures to 36 destinations.

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