The sky was the limit for EIA in 2013: Record passenger numbers

January 14, 2014 (Edmonton, AB) – Air service and aviation business in the Edmonton Region grew rapidly in 2013 to meet community demand.

“These record-breaking numbers show that Edmonton International Airport completed its expansion just in time. EIA is a not-for-profit corporation that works for the benefit of our region. To foster economic growth, both air service and our airport facilities must keep pace with demand from our region,” said Traci Bednard, Vice President of Passenger Market Development.

Highlights of 2013 at EIA

Record Passenger Numbers: 2013 was the busiest year in EIA history with 6,983,000 passengers served; 306,000 more than in 2012.

Numbers of Passengers Served at EIA from January 1 to December 31, 2013

• Domestic                                 5,312,226 = 4% growth
• US Transborder                       1,264,796 = 7.7% growth
• International                               406,207 = 3.4% growth
• Overall                                     6,983,229 = 4.6% growth – all time record!

Business Aviation: In addition to regularly scheduled airline passenger service, corporate charter flights from the private terminals at EIA had increased by 30% in 2013, to nearly 26,000 landings.

New Routes:  The people of the Edmonton Region have made clear their desire and their commitment for continued expansion of non-stop routes from EIA.  In 2013 EIA followed through on its vision of More Flights to More Places in grand style.

In direct response to community demand, United Airlines began year round non-stop flights from EIA to New York City via Newark Liberty Airport.  Icelandair announced that it will begin year-round service from Edmonton to Reykjavik in March 2014. American Airlines will also begin a new non-stop flight from EIA to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) beginning April 2, 2014.

Regional air service grew as well, with Air Canada increasing to two daily flights to Saskatoon and Regina from its former schedule of one per day. WestJet also added service, going to Saskatoon twice a day and to Regina three times daily instead of its former once a day schedule to both cities.

For sun destinations, WestJet increased its Maui flights to three times per week, from its former twice weekly timetable. Sunwing added a fourth weekly winter sun charter to Cancun, Mexico, a second to Montego Bay, Jamaica and a new destination of Freeport, Grand Bahamas.

Cargo Service: EIA’s cargo services saw its fourteenth consecutive quarter of volume growth.   Development highlights included

• AOG International relocated to EIA’s Cargo Village.
• EIA and the Canadian International Freight Forwarders Association (CIFFA) co-hosted CIFFA’s first national level conference ever held in western Canada, “Roads Rails Runways.” During the conference it was announced that a new partnership between EIA and Panattoni Development had been formed for light industrial development at Cargo Village, as well as that a custom-built 30,000 sq ft freight forwarding building will be constructed by Runway Developments Inc. .
• Lynden International opened a new service centre at EIA.
• DHL up gauged daily EIA flights from a Boeing 737 to a wide body Boeing 767 aircraft for the holiday period.
• Cargojet increased its daily Boeing 727 EIA flights to twice-daily for the holiday season.
• DHL, Purolator and the Canada Border Services Agency moved to larger, more modern facilities in Cargo Village.
• Increased daily air service by FedEx with a wide-bodied Airbus A310 air freighter between EIA and their world hub in Memphis, TN.

Commercial Development: EIA’s investment in commercial infrastructure paved the way for a number of new developments:

• The announcement of a new Outlet Collection at EIA mall by Ivanhoé Cambridge
• The construction of a second Aerocentre by Shell
• The official opening of the Plaza Premium Lounge in EIA’s Domestic/International holding area
• Villeneuve Airport will be designated as the alternate airport for EIA in February 2014 and will host the new Alberta Flying Heritage Museum.

Terminal Building Development: The new Central Tower opened with a state–of-the-art control tower for NAV Canada as well as new fully-automated central baggage facilities. In addition NAV Canada, Canadian Helicopters (an HNZ Company) and EIA were all provided with modern new offices.  The new Marriott Renaissance hotel is also nearing its 2014 opening.

Community Involvement: EIA is proud of our business achievements, but as residents of the Edmonton Region, we are also proud to support our local community.  Highlight of our community investment efforts include:

• EIA’s Art Program showcases local artists to the world and brings international art to the Edmonton Region
• Live Performances at EIA provide a venue for young local artists to fill the terminal with beautiful music. EIA was an official event sponsor of the 2013 Canadian Country Music Association Awards.
• EIA participates in Community Events including helping to raise more than $100,000 for YESS and encouraging the public to save lives with defibrillators

The EIA team wishes all the best to current President and CEO Reg Milley, who is retiring in 2014, and welcomes his successor, Tom Ruth, who will take his post this month.

It has been a great year for EIA in every way, and we expect even better years ahead thanks to the support from our communities.  On behalf of everyone at EIA, Thank You Edmonton Region!