Airport Leakage and How it Affects You

Airport Leakage - What is It?

In airport terms leakage is defined as the people who opt for larger airports for airline travel even when there is a more accessible airport in the area. This can happen for many reasons such as the availability of a non-stop flight, lower fares, airlines with better incentives (i.e. free checked baggage), etc. Leakage can be costly and though it may sound like leakage only hurts the airports and the airlines, it also hurts the consumer and we are here to explain why.

In order to understand leakage and how it affects you, the consumer, we have to understand the process of booking travel. Normally, a person that is planning to travel will first determine how they plan to get where they are going. More often than not if the travel is longer than a few hours, flights are the most popular option. For those of you who aren’t convinced that a flight is the way to go, take a look at the numbers. Flying is much safer than driving in terms of risk. You are much more likely to get in a car accident than you are to be involved in a plane crash, according to airlinereporter.com.

Booking Airline Travel

Once you have made the decision to fly, finding cheap airline tickets is the next step. This often occurs using a broad travel search tool such as Kayak, Expedia, or even Google. This search allows the consumer to find a range of flights from surrounding airports that might fit their needs. There are many variables when you are booking travel including departure time, ticket price, additional travel requirements, included luggage fees, etc. These search tools display the different airlines available, the many different flight times, and whether there are any connecting stops in the flight itinerary. They also show you your options of different airlines and airports. Some search tools such as Expedia allow you to book your travel directly while others redirect you to the appropriate site whether it be the airport website or the airline directly. As mentioned above, depending on where you live, you may also have a few options of airports you can choose from. Once the consumer takes all of these variables into consideration they are able to make a decision on the specific flights and airlines they want to use. Choosing the right airport is important so that your travel can be hassle-free. Albert J Ellis is a great Jacksonville NC airport that can help you reach your destination stress-free.

What Goes into A Flight Price?

When you see a price for flights on a website, you see a flat rate but there are a lot of things that go into creating the price of the flight. There are many aspects that are taken into consideration when flights are being priced.

These variables include the base fare, taxes, airport costs, administration fees, baggage, seat selection, and operating costs. An article by the Daily Mail explained in detail the influences on a flight price which instructed how to get cheap flights, you can find an infographic on dailymail.co.uk explaining more in detail.

Why Fly Regional?

You may be asking, where are the airports near me? In some areas of the United States, such as Eastern NC, there may be many options for airports. As mentioned before there are some that are more accessible regional airports in North Carolina to choose from such as Albert J Ellis Airport. These regional airports often require a connecting flight to a major hub such as Charlotte or Atlanta in order for you to arrive in your destination city. However, even considering the connecting flight regional airports Eastern NC can be much more convenient than traveling by car to one of these other airports many miles away.

If you remember from our past blog, there are a lot of great advantages to flying out of a regional airport. Below we summarized just a few of our favorite reasons for flying regional:

• Easy Access: Little drive time required because regional airports Eastern NC are right around the corner from your home.
• Affordable parking: larger airports can cost you anywhere from $10-$25 a day for parking depending on the lot you choose where regional airports are normally around $6/day
• Stress-free: Travel without the hassle of leaving enough time for security lines, parking, and baggage check

As you can see, flying regional has many benefits to you as a consumer. Check out our blog on lower costs in regional airports to learn more!

How Airport Leakage Affects You, the Consumer

Now that we have gone over the how-to process of booking cheap plane tickets, let's revisit the idea of Airport Leakage. There was a study (link to study) done on a regional Iowa airport and the idea of leakage. It was found that people were willing to travel hundreds of miles to an airport when there was a regional airport nearby because of prices. Often times the airlines have high prices at these regional airports but this study showed that they may be too high and that is where leakage comes into play. This leakage hurts the airlines because the consumers are traveling to other airports for a lower priced flight. It ends up hurting the consumer because the prices at regional airports do not reflect the true demand. It is important to remember that regional airports rely on demand for airlines to provide the flights. The flight prices are a direct reflection of the demand and so by traveling to an airport further away, consumers are actually contributing to price increases. Right now there are only two airlines that fly out of Albert J. Ellis, American Airlines, and Delta. In order to bring additional airlines and flights to OAJ in the future, there has to be a demand shown for these flights. As a result, both consumers and airports are impacted by airport leakage in a way many people probably did not consider.

What You Can Do About Airport Costs

As mentioned earlier in the blog, airlines use demand to determine the cost of their flights as well as where their flights will go. By increasing the demand for flights leaving from smaller regional airports in NC such as Albert J Ellis, it is important to show the airline companies that the demand is present. We have the opportunity to meet with major airlines throughout the year and pitch our demand for their services and the rest is in their hands. With the help of consumers like you, we can bring more flights to OAJ Airport to better serve you. What are some places you’d like to see our airport service? Comment below to let us know where you want to travel or contact us today!