March 28

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Subject: 

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Don Gree

March 28

Page 2 

I will give 

Sincerely,

Mead & H

Joseph P

Senior Co

Attachme

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market estimate and next steps. 
Attachment A 

Abilene Regional Airport 

True market estimate – methodology/results 

Catchment Area 

The air service catchment area (Attachment B) represents the geographic region of the residents using 

commercial air service that should use ABI with regard to their drive time to the local airport relative to a 

competing airport. These travelers should be the primary focus of ABI for air service improvements and 

represents the majority of travelers using the local airport. ABI’S catchment area population is estimated 

at 298,000 and includes 80 postal codes. 

True Market Estimate 

The purpose of this analysis is to evaluate the number of 

passengers destined to/from the defined ABI catchment 

area (Table 1). The results of this analysis indicate that 

there are 274,038 origin and destination passengers in the 

catchment area per year (375 per day each way). 

Domestic travel made up 246,634 of total travel while 

international travel was 27,404 of the total or 

approximately 10 percent. Dallas-Ft. Worth International 

and Austin-Bergstrom International were the airports that 

primarily competed for ABI passengers. ABI obtained the 

highest share of domestic passengers while Dallas-Ft. 

Worth obtained the largest share of international traffic due 

to its wide variety of international destinations. 

 

Airport Use by Community 

Airport use can be further defined by community to better 

understand how travelers from the ABI catchment area 

communities access commercial air service. Table 2

shows catchment area traveler retention by community 

accordingly. Because MIDT booking information is 

reported by travel agency or corporate location, the 

community for purposes of Table 2 is based on the location of the agency where the ticket was 

purchased. The assumption is then made that said passengers live within that postal code. ABI retained 

a larger share in the Abilene community than Brownwood. As expected, the further away from the airport 

the more likely a community is to use a competing airport. 

Top 25 Domestic Destinations 

Table 3 provides the catchment area true market estimate and retention rates for each of the top 25 

domestic markets. ABI’s highest retention rates (60 percent or greater and listed from highest retention to 

least) were in the following top 25 markets: Dallas (DFW), Houston (IAH), Nashville, Houston (HOU), 

Atlanta, Chicago (ORD), St. Louis, Washington, DC (DCA), New York, NY (LGA), Kansas City, Las 

TABLE 1 TRUE MARKET SUMMARY

RANK ORIGIN AIRPORT PAX %

Domestic 

1 Abilene 143,779 58.3 

2 Dallas-Ft. Worth 74,500 30.2 

3 Austin-Bergstrom 20,022 8.1 

4 Other* 8,333 3.4 

Subtotal 246,634 100.0

International 

1 Dallas-Ft. Worth 14,762 53.9 

2 Abilene 10,425 38.0 

3 Austin-Bergstrom 293 1.1 

4 Other* 1,924 7.0 

Subtotal 27,404 100.0

Domestic and International 

1 Abilene 154,204 56.3 

2 Dallas-Ft. Worth 89,262 32.6 

3 Austin-Bergstrom 20,315 7.4 

4 Other* 10,257 3.7 

Total 274,038 100.0

*Other includes: DAL, LBB, SJT 

TABLE 2 AIRPORT USE BY COMMUNITY

COMMUNITY 

% AIRPORT USE

ABI DFW AUS OTHER

Abilene 68 27 2 3 

Brownwood 18 47 30 5 

Total 56.3 32.6 7.4 3.7
Attachment A 

Vegas, and Minneapolis. The markets with the lowest retention rates (40 percent or smaller and listed 

least to most) were Orange County, Colorado Springs, Richmond, Boston, Raleigh, Sacramento, and 

Phoenix. 

TABLE 3 TOP 25 DOMESTIC DESTINATIONS

RANK DESTINATION 

ORIGIN AIRPORT % TOTAL 

ABI DFW AUS OTHER PAX 

1 Dallas, TX (DFW) 98 0 0 2 11,276 

2 Las Vegas, NV 62 22 11 5 8,756 

3 Orange County, CA 16 58 26 0 7,439 

4 Phoenix, AZ (PHX) 39 26 17 17 6,389 

5 Seattle, WA 50 37 1 12 5,992 

6 Orlando, FL 59 37 4 0 5,881 

7 Atlanta, GA 74 19 6 0 5,665 

8 Chicago, IL (ORD) 74 14 11 0 5,629 

9 Los Angeles, CA 58 21 17 4 5,505 

10 Denver, CO 57 26 13 4 5,453 

11 Boston, MA 30 60 10 0 5,388 

12 San Francisco, CA 42 42 16 0 4,479 

13 Washington, DC (DCA) 68 32 0 0 4,445 

14 Philadelphia, PA 57 36 7 0 4,281 

15 Raleigh/Durham, NC 30 55 5 10 4,203 

16 Houston, TX (IAH) 93 0 7 0 3,981 

17 Richmond, VA 22 78 0 0 3,867 

18 New York, NY (LGA) 66 34 0 0 3,843 

19 Kansas City, MO 63 26 0 11 3,822 

20 Sacramento, CA 36 36 29 0 3,711 

21 St. Louis, MO 69 25 0 6 3,605 

22 Houston, TX (HOU) 82 12 0 6 3,599 

23 Minneapolis, MN 61 30 9 0 3,538 

24 Colorado Springs, CO 21 79 0 0 3,466 

25 Nashville, TN 93 2 2 2 3,424 

Top 25 Domestic 57.8 30.6 8.2 3.3 127,636 

Total Domestic 56.3 32.6 7.4 3.7 274,038 

International travel 

Table 4 provides the catchment area true market estimate for each of the top 10 international markets 

and the retention and diversion rates accordingly. Overall international travel was estimated at 27,404 

annual passengers (38 passengers daily each way) with ABI retaining 54 percent. ABI retained a higher 

percentage of the top 10 markets (57 percent) on average than the overall. 

TABLE 4 TOP 10 INTERNATIONAL DESTINATIONS

RANK DESTINATION 

ORIGIN AIRPORT % TOTAL 

DFW ABI AUS OTHER PAX 

1 Frankfurt, Germany 51 40 1 7 1,422 

2 San Jose Cabo, Mexico 48 29 0 24 1,374 

3 Vancouver, Canada 67 33 0 0 1,250 

4 Liberia, Costa Rica 79 7 0 14 1,166 

5 Cancun, Mexico 57 43 0 0 1,138 

6 London, UK (LHR) 31 65 4 0 1,074 

7 Paris-De Gaulle, France 82 18 0 0 1,012 

8 Calgary, Canada 51 40 1 7 889 

9 Toronto, Canada 51 40 1 7 889 

10 Mexico City, Mexico 51 40 1 7 622 

Total International 53.9 38.0 1.1 7.0 27,404
Attachment A 

Methodology 

The true market estimate combines Marketing Information Data Tape (MIDT) booking information from 

the Global Distribution Systems (GDS), which is used by travel agencies, U.S. Department of 

Transportation origin and destination data and ABI’s enplanements and deplanements to provide a 

comprehensive overview of the air travel market. For the purposes of this study, MIDT information 

includes bookings made by travel agencies in the ABI catchment area (Attachment B). It does not 

capture bookings issued directly by airline Web sites (e.g., www.delta.com) or through airline reservation 

offices. Travel data from Internet travel agency sites (e.g., www.expedia.com) was not used in this study 

because MIDT records are sorted by zip code. Internet agency sites record all bookings as originating 

from the zip code in which the server resides. For example, all bookings for www.expedia.com are 

recorded with a Seattle zip code regardless of the air traveler’s location, since the server for Expedia is 

located in Seattle. Accordingly, retention information cannot be derived from Internet agency site 

bookings. The data used include bookings for the zip codes in the catchment area, NOT all bookings. As 

a result, the MIDT data represent a sample to measure air traveler habits. 

A total of 2,156 bookings for calendar year 2010, were used in this analysis. Local distribution of travel 

was combined with diversion to create a comprehensive true market estimate for ABI. 
Abilene Regional Airport Catchment Area 
Attachment C 

 

Abilene Regional Airport 

True Market Estimate – Top 50 Destinations 

RANK DESTINATION 

ABI 

PAX 

RETENTION 

% 

DFW 

DIVERSION

AUS 

DIVERSION

OTHER 

DIVERSION 

TRUE 

MARKET PDEW

1 Dallas, TX (DFW) 11,046 98 0 0 230 11,276 15.4

2 Las Vegas, NV 5,421 62 1,946 973 417 8,756 12.0

3 Orange County, CA 1,175 16 4,307 1,958 0 7,439 10.2

4 Phoenix, AZ (PHX) 2,500 39 1,667 1,111 1,111 6,389 8.8

5 Seattle, WA 2,996 50 2,228 77 691 5,992 8.2

6 Orlando, FL 3,481 59 2,160 240 0 5,881 8.1

7 Atlanta, GA 4,203 74 1,096 365 0 5,665 7.8

8 Chicago, IL (ORD) 4,181 74 804 643 0 5,629 7.7

9 Los Angeles, CA 3,211 58 1,147 918 229 5,505 7.5

10 Denver, CO 3,082 57 1,422 711 237 5,453 7.5

11 Boston, MA 1,616 30 3,233 539 0 5,388 7.4

12 San Francisco, CA 1,886 42 1,886 707 0 4,479 6.1

13 Washington, DC (DCA) 3,007 68 1,438 0 0 4,445 6.1

14 Philadelphia, PA 2,446 57 1,529 306 0 4,281 5.9

15 Raleigh/Durham, NC 1,261 30 2,312 210 420 4,203 5.8

16 Houston, TX (IAH) 3,696 93 0 284 0 3,981 5.5

17 Richmond, VA 841 22 3,026 0 0 3,867 5.3

18 New York, NY (LGA) 2,522 66 1,321 0 0 3,843 5.3

19 Kansas City, MO 2,414 63 1,006 0 402 3,822 5.2

20 Sacramento, CA 1,326 36 1,326 1,060 0 3,711 5.1

21 St. Louis, MO 2,479 69 901 0 225 3,605 4.9

22 Houston, TX (HOU) 2,964 82 423 0 212 3,599 4.9

23 Minneapolis, MN 2,145 61 1,072 322 0 3,538 4.8

24 Colorado Springs, CO 722 21 2,744 0 0 3,466 4.7

25 Nashville, TN 3,179 93 82 82 82 3,424 4.7

26 Baltimore, MD 2,543 79 535 134 0 3,213 4.4

27 Charlotte-Douglas, NC 1,218 38 304 913 761 3,197 4.4

28 Fort Lauderdale, FL 808 26 1,527 718 0 3,053 4.2

29 Portland, OR 1,692 57 987 141 141 2,961 4.1

30 San Diego, CA 2,285 84 334 111 0 2,730 3.7

31 Miami, FL 744 27 1,983 0 0 2,726 3.7

32 Des Moines, IA 496 19 2,082 0 0 2,578 3.5

33 Pittsburgh, PA 1,584 62 688 193 85 2,551 3.5

34 Indianapolis, IN 1,519 62 660 185 81 2,447 3.4

35 Honolulu, HI 873 37 1,378 138 0 2,389 3.3

36 Fort Walton Beach, FL 905 39 1,422 0 0 2,328 3.2

37 Dayton, OH 528 23 0 1,760 0 2,288 3.1

38 Albuquerque, NM 1,315 62 571 160 70 2,117 2.9

39 Salt Lake City, UT 1,358 64 453 0 302 2,112 2.9

40 Ontario, CA 1,282 62 557 156 69 2,065 2.8

41 El Paso, TX 1,272 62 553 155 68 2,047 2.8

42 Washington, DC (IAD) 1,272 62 553 155 68 2,047 2.8

43 Detroit, MI 1,261 62 548 154 68 2,030 2.8

44 New Orleans, LA 1,821 92 0 0 152 1,973 2.7

45 Columbus, OH 1,541 80 385 0 0 1,926 2.6

46 Tampa, FL 1,487 82 319 0 0 1,806 2.5

47 Tulsa, OK 1,121 62 487 137 60 1,805 2.5

48 Burbank, CA 1,013 62 440 124 54 1,631 2.2

49 San Antonio, TX 970 62 421 118 52 1,562 2.1

50 Cleveland, OH 1,035 67 517 0 0 1,552 2.1

Top 50 105,739 57.2 56,781 15,961 6,288 184,768 253.1

Domestic 143,779 58.3 74,500 20,022 8,333 246,634 337.9

International 10,425 38 14,762 293 1,924 27,404 37.5

Total 154,204 56.3 89,262 20,315 10,257 274,038 375.4