Northwest Arkansas National Airport followed its second-best year with the second-best January, starting 2023 on a high note.
XNA saw 62,354 passengers last month. The only time it experienced a better January was in 2020 when 67,306 boarded flights at XNA.
The airport made its January statistics public today.
The airport is well positioned to put up big numbers in February and March, too. That’s because passengers tend to travel more when new nonstop destinations become available, and both months include some new options.
American Airlines has already launched its new daily nonstop service to Phoenix, and Breeze Airways will offer twice-a-week nonstop flights to the same Arizona airport, starting Friday.
The new March options also come from Breeze. It’s starting a twice-a-week flight to Orlando on March 3. That Orlando flight is a little unique in that it’s part of the airline’s BreezeThru program and travels on to Charleston. That means a passenger can leave XNA for Orlando where they can remain on the plane and go on to Charleston. The plane is expected to be on the ground in Orlando for just 30 minutes.
In January, the airport averaged 32 flights a day with American Airlines being responsible for about half of each day’s total.
United Airlines, which is XNA’s second-busiest carrier, accounts for about 20% of the flights and travelers.
The airport’s three low-cost carriers, which see leisure travelers jam-pack their planes in the summertime, weren’t nearly as busy in chilly January. Allegiant Air, Frontier Airlines and Breeze accounted for about 16% of XNA’s passengers.
