Bucking a nationwide trend of downward-spiraling air service, Ohio's Akron-Canton Airport (CAK) just broke its all time record, handling 1,469,196 flyers in 2008. That’s a 5.6 percent increase over 2007, and a 2 percent gain over its previously best year of 2006.
Airport President and CEO Rick McQueen says CAK set the record “in the midst of incredibly challenging time.” He attributes the numbers to the airport’s “low fares…and customer service.”
Contributing to the low-fare scenario is the presence of discount airline AirTran. By far, the carrier is the airport’s largest player. It handled 670,600 passengers at CAK last year, attracting a significant share of bargain-hunting flyers looking for cheap Ohio flights.
Akron-Canton is in the midst of a $110-million Capital Improvement Plan that will see the airport’s main runway extended so that full-size jets can reach the West Coast, the Caribbean and Mexico non-stop.
© Cheapflights Ltd Jerry Chandler
