Friends,

Below is an article in the Arizona Republic showing that Sky Harbor had its busiest month on record in March.  We thought you might be interested.

David

Sky Harbor records busiest month in March

Dawn Gilbertson
The Arizona Republic
May. 5, 2005 12:00 AM

Spring break and an early Easter helped lift Sky Harbor International Airport to its busiest month on record in March.

The airport handled 3.8 million passengers in the month, up 6.2 percent from 3.5 million a year earlier. The previous record, 3.6 million, was set last July. The two biggest carriers, as always, were America West and Southwest, with 1.4 million and 1.1 million passengers, respectively.

Sky Harbor is on pace for another record year. Year-to-date traffic is up 4.7 percent.

You wouldn't know it from the airline industry's sorry state, but travel demand is soaring, especially from vacationers. Credit a humming economy and relatively low airfares. Airlines like America West are reporting packed planes.

"People want our product," American Airlines Chief Executive Officer Gerard Arpey said at an airline conference in Phoenix last week.

A busy airport means big business for companies like SuperShuttle, a Phoenix-based shared-ride van service with operations in 16 markets. The company's passenger counts were up 8 percent in Phoenix and 10 percent nationwide in March.

Dave Bird, senior vice president of operations, said the company is ordering more vans and hiring reservation agents in Phoenix and Tampa.

"We're looking at one of our better years since 9/11," he said.