Phoenix Sky Harbor charts impressive growth and holds staying power in American Airlines’ network

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport recorded solid passenger growth during 2014, nearly reaching pre-recession levels. The growth has continued in 2015, with increased passenger throughput for the 8M ending in Aug-2015.

It is a positive development for Phoenix, which has had a cloud cast over it since US Airways and American Airlines embarked on their merger in late 2014. There are strong opinions that Phoenix's geography and passenger demographics could make it weaker than other hubs in the combined networks of US Airways and American.

Going forward, Phoenix's operational footprint for American may not resemble the framework of other hubs; but the airport retains unique advantages for the merged entity as it embarks on exploiting the full utility of the combined network.