The most recent data shows that American has filled 81% of the seats its offered for sale at Willard Airport over the last 12 months. That’s the highest share of seats filled in almost five years. On flights to Dallas/Ft. Worth, American has filled 84% of seats, while its filled 79% of seats to Chicago O’Hare.
The Champaign-Urbana market is strong and growing. The Airport and its community partners have met with eight airlines this year to make the case for new routes, all of which were in person. But it won’t happen without strong community support.
As of today, partners have pledged almost $2 million in incentives for service to a Washington, DC airport. They have also pledged more than $850,000 in incentives for service to destinations in Florida, Arizona, and Nevada. And while those are impressive numbers, many other communities have incentives in the range of $3 million to $5 million per route. So, the work isn’t done.
Demand for service in Champaign County, and at Willard Airport, has fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels. A passenger study shows that the County generates almost 2,700 passengers per day. But fewer passengers are using Willard Airport because there simply aren’t enough flights.
