As the summer holiday season fades into the background, Southern California’s Ontario International Airport made the most of the traffic in August, handling 13.4% more passengers than it did in August 2023. Domestic traffic was higher, while the number of international travelers was lower than last year, with Southwest Airlines remaining the largest airline by passenger shares in August.

Domestic travel is on the rise at ONT

On Thursday, Ontario International Airport (ONT) released its traffic data for August, which showed that the airport handled 643,472 passengers, a 13.4% gain over the same time last year. The airport processed 608,360 domestic and 35,112 international travelers, with domestic increasing by 15.4% and international decreasing by 12.6% year through year.

ONT DEP-2 - Jet departing over Ontario International Airport jetbridge

Photo: Ontario International Airport

In the first eight months of 2024, Ontario International has handled 4.6 million passengers, a gain of 11.9% compared to the 4.1 million in the same period last year. Year-to-date there have been 4.3 million domestic and 305,267 international passengers, increases of 11.5% and 17.5%, respectively. Atif Elkadi, chief executive officer of the Ontario International Airport Authority (OIAA) commented:

“Demand for travel through Ontario International Airport remained strong in August, particularly among domestic passengers. The population and economy of the Inland Empire continue to flourish as many Southern Californians along the coast move inland seeking lower cost of living and enhanced quality of life. Airlines are responding to this favorable trend by adding more flights and destinations from our airport.”

Another bright spot for the airport was that cargo shipments increased by 9.5% to 68,404 tons. On a year-to-date basis, the airport has handled 494,098 tons compared to 484,962 tons in 2023, a 1.9% increase. Elkadi said the airport is pleased with the steady recovery of cargo activity and maintaining its position as a Top 10 cargo hub in North America.

Southwest is the number-one carrier

Southwest Airlines is the dominant carrier at Ontario International, holding a market share of 33.9% of passengers passing through in August. In second place is Frontier Airlines (16.6%), followed by American Airlines (15.2%), Delta Air Lines (10.4%) and United Airlines (7.5%). According to ch-aviation, Southwest does not have a base at Ontario International, but does have two in California at Los Angeles International (LAX) and Oakland International (OAK).

Southwest Airlines American Airlines Ontario International Airport

Photo: Ontario International Airport

The same data shows Southwest has a total of 820 aircraft, although 40 of those are listed as not in service. The total all-Boeing fleet includes 374 737-700s, 205 737-800s and 241 737 MAX 8s. There are also orders for 476 aircraft shown, including 286 737 MAX 7s and 190 737 MAX 8s. However, given the upheaval at Boeing, there is no surety that the variant split will remain as the MAX 7 has yet to be certified by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Ontario International is located approximately 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles in the center of Southern California, It is a full-service domestic and international airport that offers nonstop commercial jet services to 24 major airports in the United States, Mexico, Central America and Taiwan.

China Airlines Airbus A350

Photo: KeleX Pictures | Shutterstock

China Airlines operates the 13-hour service to Taiwan’s Taipei Taoyuan International (TPE) using either an Airbus A350-900 or a Boeing 777-300ER. The Top 10 routes from Ontario are Phoenix (PHX), Dever (DEN), Las Vegas (LAS), Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), Seattle (SEA), Sacramento (SMF), San Francisco (SFO), San Jose (SJC), Oakland (OAK) and Portland (PDX).

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