OAG Travel News

I marked a significant milestone in May 2009… I visited my fiftieth U.S. state.  I have been lucky to have had the opportunity to travel throughout my life, and over the past couple of years I was consciously making the effort to travel to the states that I had not yet visited. Gradually I crossed Vermont, Mississippi, Alabama and Idaho off my list…  And last, but certainly not least, I visited North Dakota.

Although I drove to and from North Dakota on my visit in May, my thoughts naturally turned to the state’s air service.

- North Dakota is home to 641,000 people, ranking as the 48th-largest state in terms of population
- North Dakota ranks as the 46th-largest state in terms of flight operations, with an average of 100 total daily flights (departures and arrivals)
- North Dakota is home to eight airports offering scheduled commercial air service
- Combined, Fargo and Bismarck account for over 60 percent of North Dakota’s air service
- Hector International Airport (FAR) in Fargo is the state’s busiest airport, with service on five airlines offering nearly 20 daily flight departures to eight cities
- Bismarck Airport (BIS) in the state capital of Bismarck is the second-busiest airport in the state, with service on four airlines offering over 10 daily flight departures to five cities
- Six airlines provide scheduled commercial service to/from North Dakota, including two low-cost carriers – Frontier and Allegiant
- 1.4 million passengers used North Dakota airports in 2008 – more than double the state’s population

Now that I have reached this milestone, I am working to formulate my next travel adventure!

Source: Official Airline Guide (OAG) Schedule Tapes; data for June 2009 only, unless otherwise noted; Hector International Airport Web site (www.fargoairport.com); U.S. DOT, T100 Databank; U.S. Census Bureau;

Original article by Laura Jackson