St. Louis Lambert Field Traffic and New Airport Director

Submitted by Patrick Grote on Fri, 03/25/2005 - 2:40pm.

St. Louis’ Lambert field has seen the rise and fall of many airlines. Last year, when American Airlines pulled most of their flights from Lambert Field, it became an utter ghost town. The City of St. Louis has chosen a new airport director and that is cause for a pause.

The history of TWA in St. Louis is a storied one and one I didn’t fully appreciate until it was too late. Although I travelled intermittently for business in the 90s, it wasn’t until the late 90s that my job required travel. By that time TWA was on the ropes and the end was near.

Since American pulled out numbers have plummeted at Lambert Field. Lambert Field has seen passengers, revenue and sales fall faster than a plane that runs out of fuel. There are two good things happening at Lambert Field now that may spell success.

Overall the numbers for 2004 were pathetic. Lambert Field went from 10.2 million people boarding to 6.7 million. That was enough for Lambert Field to fall from the 8th busiest airport to 32nd. 8 to 32. Sobering numbers for Lambert Field. They say that when you hit rock bottom there is no where to go but up and Lambert Field is starting to come up.

The first thing is that Lambert Field has shown an increase in passenger numbers. This is fantastic news as it shows an increase of 12.4% year over year. This is due mainly to airlines other than American adding flights, but also to new airlines coming. Frontier is now running out of St. Louis and Air Tran is being courted. While most of the increase comes from regional airlines, it’s good to see new carriers coming in to Lambert Field.

The second thing is a new director for Lambert Field. His name is Kevin Dolliole and he’s coming from the San Antonio International Airport to work at Lambert Field. He has done solid work in his past experience and the challenges of Lambert Field will put him to the test.

There are a many challenges, but hopefully he can increase our ranking from 32nd to something in the top 15. My how St. Louis has fallen when you shoot for the top 15.