That’s right, the results are in for the 2010 Portland-Sacramento Test. No, this isn’t something that Mary Newsom’s heart go pitty-patter. Rather, it’s a measure of US Airway’s strength on transcon flights from its CLT hub.
The airline has year-round nonstops from CLT to seven destinations in the Mountain and Pacific time zones: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, San Diego, Denver, Phoenix, and Las Vegas. The next largest markets out west include Sacramento and Portland, OR. And the airline has offered summer seasonal flights to both over the past few years. Note that transcon traffic is strongest in the summer. That’s particularly true for Portland and Seattle.
The basic pattern will not change in 2010: both Portland and Sacramento will again get a single daily flight on a 150-seat Airbus A320 between June 1 and Sept. 7. This is exactly the same as last year. So no growth there, though also no regression either despite the weak economy.
Update: Data for 3Q2009 for the 15 markets in the Western and Mountain time zones with 50 or more people a day going between them and Charlotte. Fares are one way, passenger numbers are both ways and do not include connecting traffic (origination and destination only).
| Airport | Pax/Day | Avg. Fare | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles, CA | 630.7 | $233.49 | 2125 miles |
| San Francisco, CA | 615.1 | $246.84 | 2296 miles |
| Las Vegas, NV | 542.2 | $200.91 | 1916 miles |
| Denver, CO | 434.2 | $226.35 | 1337 miles |
| Seattle, WA | 387.1 | $269.02 | 2279 miles |
| Phoenix, AZ | 345.0 | $224.34 | 1774 miles |
| San Diego, CA | 267.8 | $218.48 | 2077 miles |
| Portland, OR | 215.5 | $224.75 | 2282 miles |
| Salt Lake City, UT | 144.8 | $205.95 | 1727 miles |
| Sacramento, CA | 127.6 | $246.39 | 2244 miles |
| Santa Ana, CA | 94.9 | $265.69 | 2099 miles |
| Ontario, CA | 89.4 | $222.51 | 2079 miles |
| Albuquerque, NM | 74.5 | $174.80 | 1449 miles |
| San Jose, CA | 69.7 | $213.51 | 2275 miles |
| Tucson, AZ | 66.1 | $185.39 | 1735 miles |
By comparison, Portland in 1Q2009 was 110.4 passengers a day at a $201.96 average fare, Sacramento 70.3 passengers a day but at a $264.15 average fare.
Santa Ana (Orange County, SNA) is slot restricted and has a short runway. If it was going to happen, it would already have been announced, and used the slots that US Airways’ will be giving up when it ends Las Vegas – SNA flights later this week. US Airways tried CLT-Tuscon in 2008; it was not a success. Salt Lake City is a Delta hub.
