The number of passengers flying in and out of Wichita Mid-Continent Airport in March fell 8.5 percent, according to new figures from the Wichita Airport Authority.
In March, 113,747 passengers used the airport, compared to 124,285 passengers in March 2012.
For the first three months of 2013, traffic totaled 303,675, down 7 percent from the first three months in 2012
Air carriers served Wichita in March with 33 daily depatures, compared to 34 for the same month a year ago.
Wichita native Philip Donlay learned to fly at Riverside airport and earned his private pilot’s license at 17.
He then flew charter flights for Yingling Aviation, freight for Great Western Airlines and corporate jets for a Fortune 500 company. He was based in Wichita.
After more than 30 years as a professional pilot, Donlay was diagnosed with a medical condition that forced him to give up flying.
So he turned to another passion, writing.
At 2 p.m. Saturday, Donlay will hold a book signing at Watermark Books for his third novel, Zero Separation, an aviation thriller.
A fourth novel is scheduled for release next year.
Donlay now divides his time between Minneapolis and the San Juan Islands.
Virgin America was ranked the top performing airline for 2012, followed by JetBlue and AirTran Airways, according to the 23rd annual Airline Quality Rating of the nation’s 14 airlines.
Virgin America was new to this year’s rankings.
The three lowest-rating airlines for 2012 were SkWest, ExpressJet and United Airlines, which ranked last.
American Eagle Airlines improved the most, moving from 15th place in 2011 to 11th place in 2012.
The annual rankings are co-authored by Wichita State University associate professor of marketing Dean Headley and Purdue University professor Brent Bowen.
Airlines are rated on on-time performance, denied boardings, mishandled baggage and consumer complaints from data obtained from the Department of Transportation.
Performance by the airlines last year was the second highest in the 23 years of research compiled by Headley and Bowen.
“Passengers are experiencing better performance by the airlines, although it might cost more to fly,” the authors said in a statement.
A growing number of air travelers are using mobile boarding passes to check in for flights around the country.
NCR Corp. said that it delivered 3 million boarding passes to travelers during the month of March alone.
“In addition to making traveling easier — allowing passengers to check in on their own schedules, bypass check-in counter lines at the airport and go right to the security check-point — there’s definitely a ‘cool’ factor to using mobile boarding passes that’s exciting for travelers,” NCR travel vice president and general manager Tyler Craig said in a statement.
NCR’s mobile pass delivers a patented 2D bar code on a mobile device, which allows passengers to check in remotely and go directly to airport security check-points when they arrive at the airport.
The technology is offered by airlines around the world.
NCR is now launching NCR Dynamic Wallet, which provides boarding gate and flight departure times updated in real time.
It’s also launching NCR Ad Injection, which allows airlines to deliver messages to passengers via their electronic boarding passes.
Wichita Mid-Continent Airport has received what the airport calls a “perfect” inspection from the Federal Aviation Administration.
The airport received its ninth consecutive discrepancy-free Certification and Safety Inspection, which covers airport emergency response capability, airfield safety maintenance and self-inspection program, compliance with FAA regulatory and operational directives and personnel training programs, it said.
It’s one of the highest consecutive zero discrepancy records in the FAA Central Region, the airport said.
“My sincere compliments and congratulations go out to our operations, maintenance and public safety staff members who have again made it possible to complete this important inspection with no discrepancies,” Brad Christopher, assistant director of airports, said in a statement.
The airport has received perfect inspections in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011.
United Express is beginning daily nonstop service between Wichita and Los Angeles International Airport beginning May 2, according to Wichita Mid-Continent Airport officials.
The airline will operate two daily departures and arrivals between the two cities. Los Angeles is Wichita’s fourth top passenger market.
The service will be operated by its regional partner, SkyWest Airlines, which will operate the flights using 66-seat Canadair CRJ-700 regional jets.
The flights are in addition to United’s daily service from Wichita to Chicago, Denver and Houston.
“We wish to thank United Airlines for recognizing the demand for service to the LAX market and bringing their valuable resources to Wichita,” said Valerie Wise, Wichita Airport Authority air service and business development manager, in a statement. “This will be a popular service for the business travelers in our region.”
United’s senior manager of market analysis Martin Kammerman said in a statement that the airline looks forward to serving the growing business market between Wichita and Southern California.
A fly-in and car show scheduled for Saturday at Augusta Municipal Airport has been postponed for two weeks due to a severe weather forecast.
The fly-in will now be held from 8 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. at the airport on Saturday, Oct. 27. It will feature a sausage biscuit breakfast, lunch, skydiving, static displays, live music and more.
For more information go to www.flyaugustaks.com.
The Augusta Municipal Airport will be an active place Saturday as the airport hosts a fly-in and car show.
The event will be held from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and offer breakfast, lunch, static displays, music, skydiving, raffle prizes and more, information from the airport said.
The airport will also sell aviation fuel at a 50 cent discount.
For more information, call 316-733-1326.
The Newton City/County Airport will begin the first phase of a project to rebuild its 7,000-foot runway on Monday.
Reconstruction will be completed in three phases.
“The intention is to keep it open,” City of Newton spokeswoman Erin McDaniel said of the runway.
The first phase to remove and replace the south end of the runway is expected to be completed by November.
Phases two and three to reconstruct the middle and northern sections of the runway is scheduled to begin in the spring.
The Federal Aviation Administration is paying for 90 percent of the $6.4 million project. The City of Newton and Harvey County are each contributing 5 percent.
The current concrete runway was built in 1944 and has exceeded its useful life, city officials said.
Dondlinger Construction is the project’s contractor.
Roger Cohen, president of the Regional Airline Association, will be the keynote speaker at the Wichita Aero Club luncheon on Tuesday.
The trade group represents regional airlines.
“His perspective will be especially relevant in light of the design of Wichita’s new airline terminal, which has been designed specifically to accommodate regional aircraft,” the Wichita Aero Club said in information about the luncheon.
Cohen was named president of the association in 2006. He also has served as vice president of regional affairs for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association and managing director of state and local affairs for the Air Transport Association.
The luncheon will be held at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel at the Wichita Airport.
A reception begins at 11:45 with lunch at noon.
For information or to make reservations call 316-681-4471 or www.wichitaaeroclub.org
