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The total number of passengers of 627,919 edged out the prior record of 626,124 passengers from 2019 by 2.6%, according to Bill Tomcich, a local air-travel consultant and liaison to commercial airlines for the stakeholder group Fly Aspen Snowmass.
A growing number of flights compared to recent years, greater efficiency in filling seats and good weather in December all helped establish the record.
“It was really the continued growth of flights during the spring, summer and fall, rather than the winter, that helped push ASE’s total annual numbers to an all-time record,” Tomcich said. “American expanded (Austin, Texas services) to daily last summer and continued flying that route through September last year, while American has been flying (Dallas-Fort Worth) year-round for several years now, and in addition to (Denver), United has been flying either LAX or (Chicago) year-round, as well.”
The airport is served by three commercial carriers — United, Delta and American — whose flights are handled by third-party operator SkyWest Airlines. United is the dominant carrier in the Aspen market.
There were 6,564 scheduled flights into the airport in 2023, according to Tomcich’s research. That was an increase of 2.8% from the prior year. However, the number of flights was well behind the 6,710 scheduled flights in 2018.
“The reason 2023 was a record year in terms of total passengers was because of better schedules and stronger load factors,” Tomcich said “The overall load factor at ASE for the calendar year 2018 was 66.5% compared with 74.9% in 2023.” (A “load factor” is the percentage of available seats on an aircraft that are filled.)
Good fortune in December helped seal the record number of passengers in and out of the Aspen-Pitkin County Airport. There was a two-week period during the heart of the holidays when there were “no significant commercial disruptions,” Tomcich said in a regular monthly report he wrote for December.
Heavy air traffic forced diversions of flights to other airports — including diversions to take on fuel before resuming trips to Aspen — during the busy holiday period.
“But this is the first time I can ever recall nearly two full weeks over the holidays without a single commercial flight cancellation at ASE!” Tomcich wrote.
There were more delays on outgoing flights than incoming in December, which Tomcich attributed to people not allowing enough time to get through security.
“It seems that a lot of folks may have become complacent thinking that because ASE is a small airport, they can show up as late as one hour prior to departure and be fine,” Tomcich wrote in his January report, reflecting trends through December.
But sometimes the amount of time needed can’t be anticipated. For example, one of the two luggage-scanning systems operated by the Transportation Security Administration experienced regular breakdowns last month, creating long lines and some missed flights for passengers.
Aspen-Pitkin County Airport Director Dan Bartholomew said the increases in passenger numbers in 2023 reflect “a growth in the airline industry in general.” Passenger numbers have continued to bounce back after they fell during the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.
The impressive aspect of the 2023 passenger record is that it came despite the airport being shut down for about three weeks for runway maintenance in the spring. Maintenance is scheduled for a similar period in spring 2024.
Bartholomew said he and his staff took the record number of passengers in stride.
“We’re not actually seeking to break enplanements. We’re just trying to run an airport,” he said.
Nevertheless, Bartholomew said passenger numbers could continue to climb in 2024 as long the economy stays strong.
Tomcich also foresees another record in 2024. He noted that January’s passenger numbers exceed January 2023 by 2.6% primarily due to the airlines extending their holiday flights deeper into January.
“We also have all three airlines extending their full winter schedules deeper into April this year,” he wrote in his report.
A total of 30 to 37 flights daily are now scheduled in and out of the Aspen airport through April 3.