Sonoma County airport sees travel spike in March

Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport — which Thursday announced the addition of a fourth commercial airline — more than doubled its passenger volume last month, the facility announced Monday.

Alaska Airlines and American Airlines — the two commercial carriers currently servicing the Santa Rosa airport — collectively flew 13,822 passengers in March, compared with 6,644 in February. The passenger figure for March was 30% below the level of a year before, when the coronavirus pandemic began.

Last month’s spike in travel leaves the airport well-positioned to welcome Burbank-based Avelo Airlines, which on Thursday began taking reservations for its Santa Rosa to Burbank service that begins April 28, Airport Manager Jon Stout told the Business Journal at the time.

Alaska Airlines, which brings the most business to the Sonoma County facility, last month flew 10,840 passengers, down 18.4% from March 2020. Alaska’s load factor — the measure of how full its airplanes were on average — was 52%, down 52.9% from a year earlier. Alaska in February carried 4,868 passengers.

American Airlines in March flew 2,982 passengers through the Sonoma County airport, down 32% from the year prior. The carrier’s load factor was 72%, down 20% from March 2020. American in February flew 1,776 passengers.

United Airlines will be back on board June 3 with its Denver route, and San Francisco flights resume the following day. The airline paused all service on Nov. 1 because of the pandemic and announced its return last month, as reported by the Business Journal at the time.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.