The Eugene Airport serves a population of about 686,000 residents within an 83 zip code catchment area, a geographic region designated as the area in which people will drive to an airport to catch a flight.  Keeping the majority of those people flying from EUG is a challenge our local airport has faced since it first began commercial service, a challenge that continues today. 

The Eugene Airport has the competitive disadvantage of being located relatively close to Portland International Airport. With a little over a two hour drive (on a good day) Portland has more flight availability and a major low-cost carrier, Southwest Airlines. This leads a lot of local passengers to think they should drive north for air travel.

EUG currently retains around 52% of the local market with the other 48% leaking to PDX.  This may surprise you: The average round trip fare difference between EUG and PDX is only $64. When you account for drive time, the cost of gas, more expensive parking, and perhaps hotel costs, there is most often no savings in driving north to fly out of Portland.

The staff at the Eugene Airport takes pride in providing exemplary customer service to our patrons. We work closely with our tenant partners, airlines, car rentals, restaurant and gift shop employees, to ensure a pleasant travel experience. Passengers at EUG enjoy parking right next to the terminal, fast check in and security process, and a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

So next time you hear someone say they’re going to book a flight out of Portland to save money share this top ten list with them on reasons you should fly easy… flyEUG:

1. You’ll be supporting your local airport!
2. You’ll be helping the local economy in western Oregon!
3. You’ll enjoy one-stop connections to worldwide destinations!
4. You’ll save time and money with the average round trip fare difference between PDX and EUG just $64!
5. You’ll reduce your drive time!
6. You’ll enjoy convenient and cheaper parking!
7. You’ll have easy access in and out of the airport!
8. You’ll experience a fast check in and security process!
9. You’ll appreciate the relaxed atmosphere!
10. You’ll be treated to exemplary customer service!

The staff of the Eugene Airport looks forward to making your next travel experience a pleasure.

Posted by: tdoll

This entry was posted on Friday, August 28th, 2009 at 2:37 pm and is filed under Air service. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.