Sobre a Competitividade dos Aeroportos

A notícia abaixo trabalha a questão da competitividade de um aeroporto. Trata do caso do aeroporto GSP (Greenville-Spartanburg, na Carolina do Sul, USA).A seguinte frase é extremamente ilustrativa do posicionamento dos aeroportos:

The problem isn't with the airport. GSP is clean, convenient and a pleasure to use. Unfortunately, airports don't have complete control over what airlines serve them and how much those airlines charge. In fact, airports are dependent on competition between carriers to drive down costs for that location. Greenville has just one low-fare carrier with limited service, and it has fewer non-stop destinations than either Charlotte or Atlanta. All of that means fewer options for travelers and less competition among the airlines.

Muito interessante ver que os problemas sao os mesmos pelo mundo afora. Os aeroportos dependem das companhias aereas para sobreviverem. O contrario tb vale. É preciso uma adminstração aeroportuária atenta para as vantagens competitivas locais de cada aeroporto. É fundamental uma administração individualizada, e não centralizada, como a da nossa Infraero.

Segue a notícia:

Area depends on competitive airport
March 1, 2009
http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20090301/OPINION/903010301/1004/NEWS01

Two recent news reports illustrate some obvious struggles for Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport, and will help chart the course this airport needs to take once the economy improves.

In a recent report by Forbes magazine, GSP was ranked as the fifth-most expensive airport in the United States. Columbia's Metropolitan Airport is the third-most expensive. And Charlotte's Douglas International is not much better, checking in at seventh-most expensive. Given the high costs at GSP, passengers are fleeing to other airports, even nearly-as-pricey Charlotte. In terms of average costs, GSP, Charlotte and Columbia are virtually identical: It costs 38 cents per mile, on average, to travel to and from GSP, according to the Forbes report. Columbia costs 39 cents per mile and Charlotte costs 37 cents per mile. Even Atlanta costs 33 cents per mile, but it offers many more direct and nonstop options than Greenville.

The cost and convenience differences -- both real and perceived -- have taken their toll. According to a February report in The News, 59 percent of Upstate airline passengers fly out of Charlotte or Atlanta. That's up from an estimated 30 to 35 percent in the past, GSP executive director Gary Jackson told the newspaper. That statistic doesn't bode well for GSP, which has frozen wages and salaries and stopped hiring to keep costs down. All of the airport's revenue is dependent on passenger traffic, and with more passengers opting to travel from other airports, that traffic is down.

The problem isn't with the airport. GSP is clean, convenient and a pleasure to use. Unfortunately, airports don't have complete control over what airlines serve them and how much those airlines charge. In fact, airports are dependent on competition between carriers to drive down costs for that location. Greenville has just one low-fare carrier with limited service, and it has fewer non-stop destinations than either Charlotte or Atlanta. All of that means fewer options for travelers and less competition among the airlines.

The Upstate is a business center, and the area's current and future businesses are dependent upon affordable, convenient air travel to and from Greenville and the Upstate. That makes these two reports troubling, and establishes clear goals for GSP.

To their credit, airport officials along with government and business leaders have worked together to try to expand and improve service at GSP. Problem is, few airlines are expanding in the current economy and are unlikely to do so in the near future. Still, it's imperative for those groups to continue working together to court airlines for new and expanded service here, and that will become crucial when the economy improves and airlines once again are earnestly looking for places to expand.

In the meantime, GSP appears to be doing the right things; among them, as Jackson said, is to operate "lean and mean" until the economy turns around.