Des Moines International Airport is continuing to break monthly records and is on track to reach 1 million enplanements by the end of the year. But airport officials are still reaching out to travelers who are taking their business to other airports, a practice that makes it difficult to add carriers and expand service through existing carriers.

“If we don’t see the long-term investment of utilizing this airport then we’re never going to be in a position to attract other carriers or current carriers continuing to expand,” said airport spokesperson Roy Criss.

With nine carriers at Des Moines International, Criss believes the airport has been able to provide “a nice balance of service.” Allegiant Air joined the list of carriers at the airport last year when the newly-founded airline implemented one of its nonstop flights to Las Vegas from Des Moines. And some airlines have expanded within the market. But even expansion is difficult, keeping the number of carriers in Des Moines fairly static.

“This industry is really volatile,” Criss said. “These carriers operate on a razor-thin profit margin and, for them to expand service into a new market, that’s a big decision for them to make.”

The continuation of marketing efforts at the airport is an attempt to establish a cycle in which airline carriers cannot ignore the growing number of travelers utilizing Des Moines International Airport.

Breaking monthly enplanement records throughout the year, Des Moines International is in position to see 1 million enplanements in 2004. Last year, 911,063 travelers boarded planes at the Des Moines airport, breaking a 1996 record. Operating figures for September showed that close to 83,000 passengers boarded planes at the airport during the month, a 15.4 percent increase over September 2003. Des Moines International is 70,000 passengers ahead of last year’s record-setting pace.

“That’s a pretty tremendous number when you think about the fact that our catchment area is just a bit over 500,000 people,” Criss said. “But it’s a struggle. The carriers have to struggle to keep prices down. We have to struggle to keep rolling out amenities and try to make the airport accessible and make sure everything works in a way where it’s a good experience for people.”

The past year has brought about heightened efforts to draw in those highly sought-after travelers in Central Iowa, some of whom hop in their cars and follow lower air fares to Kansas City International Airport or Omaha’s Eppley Airfield, both touted as low-fare airports with at least one dominant, low-fare carrier, such as Southwest Airlines.

The airport ramped up its efforts to encourage those travelers to fly out of Des Moines International, with claims that the cost of gas and a hotel stay cancels out any possible savings from a lower airfare.

Statistics compiled by the Department of Transportation for the period from April 1, 2003, to March 30, 2004, showed that the average cost of a one-way ticket out of Des Moines was $148.95 – within $29 of Kansas City’s average, within $21 of Moline’s average, within $16 of Omaha’s and $25 better than Minneapolis’ average.

Taking those numbers into consideration, Des Moines launched its airport marketing efforts which encouraged people to “Do the Math” and decide which airport provides the best decision in economic terms.

“The marketing of the airport, if that brings more people in, the carriers have more customers to deal with, which means they have a greater ability to keep their prices lower,” Criss said. “So then one feeds the other. The lower the fares, the more people come. The more people come, the lower the fares.”

A new marketing campaign is encouraging people to consider their business at Des Moines International an investment. Buying an airplane ticket is equal to buying a piece of power, Criss says, and customers should consider where they want their power: in Des Moines or in another Midwestern city.

“If people want the current carriers to expand and enhance their service, and they want us to be in line to bring a low-fare carrier, then the only way that’s going to happen is if everybody invests their power here and we drive the business so high that people can’t ignore us anymore.”

He said travelers are taking away a “gold standard” from Des Moines International by flying out of airports in other cities. With Des Moines now the 88th most active commercial airport in the nation, Criss said the community has to continue to bring in more passengers to attract the attention of national carriers.

“They have to go where the numbers are where they can make the money first,” he said. “The only way that the existing carriers are going to be able to expand and enhance service and the only way we’re going to attract new carriers is if everyone keeps bringing their business here.”

While airport officials are pleased with the number of carriers currently flying out of Des Moines International, Criss said there is always room for improvement, whether it is bringing in a low-fare carrier or one that will provide nonstop service to a highly-frequented destination. With approximately 30,000 people flying from Des Moines to Orlando on an annual basis, Criss said they are interested in adding a nonstop flight between the two cities.

Negotiations are still under way in restoring a Des Moines to Washington, D.C., nonstop flight. Midwest Express pulled its nonstop flight earlier this year, claiming it was losing money on the route. Northwest Airline has applied for the flight into Washington, D.C., and expects a response from the Federal Aviation Administration by the end of the month. Des Moines International was rejected for a direct flight to Washington, D.C., several months ago.

“On the surface, it would seem that [choosing Des Moines] would be a logical decision,” said Criss. Des Moines sends approximately 31,000 travelers to the nation’s capital annually. Des Moines is competing with Jackson, Miss., and three airports in Florida for the direct route.

He added that, with marketing efforts contributing to an increase in passenger numbers, the next step is to stabilize ticket prices and provide amenities that keep people coming back.

“I don’t care how cheap the ticket is – if you don’t have a decent place to park and the airport’s dirty and it doesn’t run well and your flight doesn’t take off on time, you probably aren’t going to come back” Criss said.

The airport has continued to roll out amenities for passengers, with kids’ tables now in each gate area, a language interpreting service, high-speed wireless Internet access, a new economy parking lot that is set to open this week and refurbished boarding bridges. Two runway projects will be completed over the next five years, funded primarily through the FAA.

One runway will be resurfaced along with the addition of 25-foot shoulders on both sides of the runway, new runway lights and new signage, all to improve safety and operations efficiencies, with an estimated cost of $12.5 million.

The airport will also add a 5,500-foot runway for general aviation purposes at a cost of $40 million, which is scheduled for completion in 2009.

“A healthy, vital airport is a huge economic engine for this community. With all these neat things going on – the Iowa Events Center, Jordan Creek, the Principal Riverwalk – I would hope Des Moines is going to be a destination city and that this would be a portal for everything Central Iowa has to offer,” Criss said.