The amount of air cargo handled at Spokane International Airport grew at a healthy 5.7 percent clip during the first 10 months of this year, signaling a possible turnaround following three years of stagnation.


We had a very good October, and that helped our year-to-date figures, says airport spokesman Todd Woodard.


About 5,000 tons of air cargo passed through the airport in October, up 5.1 percent from about 4,800 tons in October 2003. During the first 10 months of this year, the airport handled about 47,000 tons of air cargo, compared with 44,400 tons in the year-earlier period.


Based on growth rates so far this year, the final numbers for 2004 could end up around 57,000 tons, which would reflect the first substantive increase the airport has seen in air-cargo activity since the economy soured in 2001.


Last year, the airport handled about 54,300 tons of air cargo, up just 1.9 percent from 2002. Annual air-cargo tonnage had fallen 1.8 percent in 2002 and plummeted nearly 20 percent in 2001. Before that, volumes had grown significantly for a decade, peaking in 2000 at 67,300 tons.


Woodard says he doesnt know whats behind the increased volume this year and says air-cargo companies are notoriously tight-lipped about their activities. Representatives of some of the larger air-cargo companies in the market couldnt be reached for comment.


The biggest air-cargo player here is Federal Express, which last year handled about two-thirds of the total tonnage that passed through Spokane International. Its market share here grew further during the first 10 months of this year, to about 71 percent.


The No. 2 air-cargo carrier here currently, United Parcel Service, had about 11 percent market share, which is down somewhat from about 13 percent in 2003.


The other two significant carriers here are Empire Airways, whose 7.4 percent market share so far this year is unchanged from last year, and Airborne, a unit of international shipping giant DHL, which handles about 4 percent of the tonnage here.


The other nine carriers, mostly airlines, that provide air-cargo service to Spokane International together handle just 7 percent of the tonnage here.


Delta Airlines, which last year carried a modest 1.6 percent of the air-cargo tonnage here, has carried no air freight this year.


Woodard says Spokane is more of a consumptive market than a shipping market, meaning that more freight is flown into the airport than leaves through it. During the first 10 months of the year, freight loaded off of aircraft here totaled about 23,500 tons, compared with the 17,600 tons loaded onto planes here during the same period.


Spokane International for some time has been working to position itself for growth in air-cargo activity by constructing new air-cargo aprons and greatly extending the taxiway that serves the air-cargo areas of the airport.


It also has taken the initial steps necessary to extend its main runway, which will allow big aircraft to be loaded more heavily or carry more fuel for longer flights, Woodard says.


That project, which would include adding between 1,000 feet and 3,000 feet of length to the main runway, will require approval from the Federal Aviation Administration and likely wouldnt get under way at least until the summer of 2006, he says.


No project cost estimates are available yet, but Woodard says it will be in the millions of dollars and will be paid for by using money from ticket fees already charged by the airport to airline passengers.


Passenger volume


Passenger volume at the airport, meanwhile, also is growing briskly so far this year.


Through the first 10 months of 2004, the airport handled about 2.5 million inbound and outbound passengers, up 9.8 percent through October 2003.


In October alone, about 256,000 passengers passed through the airport, up 10.7 percent from the year-earlier month.


Much of the percentage growth in passenger volumes came from regional airlines, which enjoyed a roughly 28 percent jump in passenger traffic here during the first 10 months of the year, while major airlines saw just a 3.6 percent increase.


Annual passenger volume has been mostly stable over the past 10 years, ranging from 2.69 million passengers to 3.26 million. About 2.79 million passengers passed through the airport in 2003.