Airline passenger traffic in and out of Friedman Memorial Airport during the 2010 winter months took a bump upward from the same months in the 2009 winter season, according to statistics from the airport office.
The number of arriving passengers on SkyWest Airlines and Horizon Air was up by about 10 percent and the number of departing passengers was up about 6 percent.
"This is obviously good news," said Carol Waller, executive director of the Sun Valley-Ketchum Chamber & Visitors Bureau.
She partially ascribed the increase to cooperative efforts by Sun Valley Resort, the chamber and Horizon Air in discounting fares during low-volume days and thus increasing passenger volume from California.
Between December 2008 and March 2009, 6,214 Horizon Air passengers arrived at Friedman; between December 2009 and March 2010, the number jumped to 7,780.
Departing revenue passengers totaled 6,379 in the 2008-09 winter season, versus 7,323 in the 2009-10 period.
Even with four fewer flights, SkyWest Airlines toted up a jump in traffic. Friedman reported SkyWest carried 11,146 arriving passengers this winter, more than the 10,938 last year. SkyWest departing passengers for the winter of 2008-09 totaled 11,163, compared to 11,251 this year.
"This bodes well for the future," Waller said.
Horizon Air has a 12-month agreement with the chamber and Sun Valley Resort to collect subsidies if insufficient passenger revenues lead to losses on winter and summer operations. If summer traffic holds up or improves, Waller pointed out, there'll be less or no payment.
SkyWest offers service to and from Salt Lake City. Horizon offers seasonal service to Seattle and Los Angeles.
