Holiday Airport Traffic

>> MICHAEL STROMBERG, THE CTO OF LATTICE PUBLISHING JOINS US NOW TO TAKE A DEEPER LOOK AT THE NUMBERS BEHIND THE HEADLINES. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US TODAY. CAN YOU FIRST EXPLAIN HOW THE SURVEY WAS CONDUCTED, WHAT DATES AND WHAT YEARS? >> YES, OF THE ANALYSIS LOOKED AT DATA FROM THE U.S. BUREAU OF TRANSPORTATION STATISTICS, PARTICULARLY FLIGHT DATA. AND IT WAS FROM A FLIGHTS FROM 2023 TO 2025. SO THE ANALYSTS WANTED A MULTI-YEAR APPROACH TO LEVEL OUT ANY NOISE. >> AND THEN WHAT ARE SOME OF THE KEY FINDINGS THAT MIGHT SURPRISE US? >> I THINK THE BIGGEST THING IS THAT YOU DO THE LOCATIONS THAT SEE THE LARGEST SPIKES ARE. NOT EXACTLY THE TYPICAL SUMMER DESTINATION THAT YOU MIGHT THINK ABOUT. SO LOCATIONS IN ALASKA AND MAINE. MONTANA, THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. THOSE AREAS IN PARTICULAR SEES A RELATIVELY LARGE SPIKE IN COMMERCIAL PASSENGER FLIGHTS. A LOT OF THOSE PARTICULARLY OF HARSH WINTERS. AND WHEN YOU COMBINE THAT WITH THIS BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPES AND NATURAL OUT OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES DURING THE SUMMER PERIOD, AT LEAST 2 THIS INFLUX IN DEMAND, PARTICULARLY IN THE SUMMER AND THE 4TH OF JULY WHERE SOME OF THOSE AREAS ARE LESS POPULAR ARE EVEN VERY DIFFICULT TO GET TO DURING THE WINTER MONTHS. AND THEN HOW DID YOU ARRIVE AT THIS CONCLUSION THAT? >> FORT MYERS RANKED LAST 72 OF 72 MIDSIZED METRO AIRPORTS FOR THIS JULY 4TH TRAVEL. HOW DID YOU GET TO THAT? >> YEAH. SO. >> SO ONE IMPORTANT CLARIFICATION THAT FORT MYERS IS IN A CERTAIN LOSING TRAVELERS IN ABSOLUTE NUMBERS I SO THE ANALYSIS MEASURES HOW MUCH TRAFFIC CHANGES DURING THE 4 JULY WEEK COMPARED TO THE MARKETS. NORMAL BASELINE THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. LIKE WE DISCUSSED. SO. FORT MYERS IS ALREADY A TOURISM DESTINATION THAT ATTRACTS VISITORS YEAR ROUND, BUT PARTICULARLY IN THE SPRING AND WINTER MONTHS. SO BECAUSE THE AREA'S STARTS WERE RELATIVELY HIGH BASELINE OF TOURISM ACTIVITY. IT DOESN'T EXPERIENCE THE SAME HOLIDAY. SPECIFIC SEEN STATIONS LIKE, YOU KNOW, ME IN MONTANA CONVENTION. SO. MANY OF THE HIGHEST-RANKING DESTINATIONS ARE PLACES WHERE. TOURISM IS HEAVILY CONCENTRATED IN A SHORTER SUMMER SEASON, WHEREAS, YOU KNOW, FORT MYERS AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA IN GENERAL HAVE A MUCH BROADER PEAK TRAVEL TOURISM SEASON. AND SO. THAT PARTICULAR SCENARIO KIND OF CREATES THE PERFECT STORM FOR. WHAT WOULD APPEAR TO BE A DROP IN IN FLIGHT TRAFFIC. BUT IT'S BECAUSE THERE'S A HIGH BASELINE AND THEN ALSO AGAIN, THE SUMMER. IN FORT MYERS IS A BIT OF THE OFFSEASON AS WE HAVE HOT WEATHER COMMUNITY. SORT OF THE BEGINNING OF HURRICANE SEASON. IT JUST CREATES A RELATIVE DROP OFF ON PAPER. BUT AGAIN, FORT MYERS, 4TH OF JULY IS STILL A POPULAR DESTINATION. FOR TRAVELERS IS JUST NOT A POPULAR THE REST OF THE YEAR. >> SO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN ULTIMATELY FOR TRAVELERS, ESPECIALLY THOSE THAT WANT TO COME TO FLORIDA OR SOUTHWEST OVER JULY 4TH CAN MAY EVEN GET BETTER FLIGHT DEALS. I WANT OWN SPECIFIC DATES. A USER DATA. >> YEAH, EXACTLY. SO >> ONE THING THAT WE WE DID NOTICE AGAIN, IT WAS THAT WHEN THE ANALYSTS LOOKED AT THAT ONE WEEK PERIOD IT IT REALLY IS DEPENDENT ON WHAT DAY THE 4TH OF JULY FALLS ON. IF LAWYERS ARE LOOKING TO FIND A DISCOUNT OR LOOKING TO AVOID DISRUPTIONS POTENTIALLY FLY OUT CAN AVOID SOME OF THAT CONFLICT AND THEN AGAIN, 2 DAYS AFTER THE 4TH OF JULY, DEPENDING ON WHAT THEIR LIVES ON IS TYPICALLY ANOTHER PEAK TRAVEL DAY. SO POTENTIALLY OF WARNING THAT IT COULD SAVE YOU SOME MONEY AND AND SOME HASSLE. >> 3 DAYS AFTER OR 4 DAYS AND ENJOY A LITTLE MORE TIME HERE. ALL RIGHT. WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME AND SHARING MORE ABOUT THIS STUDY. IT'S VERY INTERESTING. THANK YOU. >> ABSOLUTELY. THANKS FOR HAVING ME.