Home > About BNE > Press Room > 2009 Archive > March > Low-Cost Carriers

Low-Cost Carriers at Buffalo Niagara Draws Travelers

Buffalo Niagara International Airport bucked national trends to set its all-time passenger record for 2008, The Buffalo News reports. The airport recorded a total of 5,526,301 passengers in 2008, a 3.5% increase over the record it set in 2007. It was the fifth-straight record-setting year for Buffalo.

"This is a strong performance in what was a difficult year for a lot of airports around the country. We were way ahead of the national average on passenger trends," says Lawrence Meckler, executive director of the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority that oversees the airport.

Still, Meckler warns that Buffalo's five-year run of record totals may end in 2008. "The economy is such a wild card it's tough to predict," Meckler tells the News. Buffalo's fortunes have improved since it opened a new terminal in 1998 and lured low-cost carriers Southwest, JetBlue and AirTran. The News writes "the menu of low-cost carriers has proven a big draw for Southern Ontario residents who now account for more than 25% of airport users." In fact, the News notes Buffalo's all-time single-day passenger record came this October on a Canadian holiday weekend.

Read More