Omaha Eppley Airfield Passenger Numbers up since 2007
Nearly ten years after the Financial Crisis sparked an industry-wide downturn throughout the U.S. Airline industry, passenger numbers at Omaha’s Eppley Airfield have returned to their pre-recessions levels. In 2016, 4.34 million passengers traveled through Eppley Airfield. That includes enplaning, or boarding an airplane, and deplaning, or disembarking from one.
Although that is shy of 2007’s record of 4.42 million passengers, it is a 9.02% increase from 2015 when 4.16 million traveled through Omaha. It is also significantly better than 2002 when only 3.6 million went through the airport after 9/11 sparked a similar industry-wide downturn.
Total Passengers at Eppley Airfield 2002–2016
With the expansion of service over the years, airlines added 446,000 seats in 2016. That made Eppley the 9th fastest growing airport in the country — behind Fort Lauderdale, but ahead of St. Louis.
Eppley remains Nebraska’s top airport regarding passengers enplaned and deplaned. When compared to other neighboring airports in Kansas and Iowa, the airport carried 1.98 million more passengers than Des Moines International Airport (2.36 million) in 2016. Kansas City International Airport, however, remains the largest of the three with 11 million passengers boarding and disembarking.
Growth at Lincoln Airport in Lincoln, Nebraska stayed flat at 1%, or 165,000 passengers, due to no expansion.
Between 2009–2016, the busiest months to travel were between May through July, as well as March and October. Meanwhile, the slowest months were January, February, and December. The data retrieved from the Omaha Airport Authority, however, did not specify the level of passengers day-to-day.
Busiest Months to Fly In or Out of Omaha between 2009–2016
More interesting — passengers are more likely to board airplanes leaving Omaha over the fall and winter, but are more apt to disembark planes over the summer*. Since 2011, more passengers have been arriving in Omaha, as opposed to boarding. The data though did not specify enplaning and deplaned among individual airlines.
Difference Between Enplaned and Deplaned January-December
Difference Between Enplaned and Deplaned 2009–2016
The dynamics of Eppley Airfield regarding airlines has changed dramatically as well over the years. At the end of 2002, Dallas-based Southwest Airlines and Chicago-based United Airlines each held roughly 19% of the Omaha market share. Today, however, Southwest has nearly doubled its grip on the Omaha market to 34%. Delta is now the second largest airline with 22.6% of market share*. United and American now compete for third place, with each carrier holding 18% of market share*. All four airlines now dominate the market.
Market Share of US Airlines (Axis represents percent of market vs. year)
The airport has said goodbye to several airlines including Northwest Airlines, Midwest Airlines, and America West. The airport has also seen multiple airlines introduce and expand their service as Omaha’s economy has grown:
- At the end of 2013, Alaska Airlines launched service to Seattle, Washington, and expanded service to Portland, Oregon last February.
- Allegiant Airlines launched service to St. Petersburg, Florida, as well as seasonal flights to Oakland, California, and Orlando in February, May, and August 2015, respectfully.
- American Airlines began service to Los Angeles in August 2016
- United Airlines also commenced service to California in September 2016 with non-stop flights to San Francisco.
- Southwest Airlines introduced direct flights to Dallas in 2015, and Washington, D.C. in 2016, and also commenced service to Houston this month.
Overall, seven airlines offer year-round service to 21 cities across the United States. The added service above complements existing flights to Denver, Chicago, Atlanta, New York City, St. Louis, and Dallas. Increased non-stop access to east and west coast airports means that passengers have more access to direct flights to major business centers that operate out of Omaha, such as LinkedIn and Yahoo.
All eyes will be focused this year to see if the total number of passengers will increase past 2016 and supersede the 2007 record. The Omaha Airport Authority unveiled a master plan in 2013 to provide need-based upgrades and renovations to Eppley as passenger numbers climb. Long-term goals include expansions at each concourse, as well as upgrades to the parking garage.
*This was calculated by subtracting the number of enplaning passengers from the number of deplaning passengers
*All charts and graphs were created with numbers pulled from the Omaha Airport Authority and processed using Tableau
*Includes United Express, American Eagle, and Delta Connection
