The decline in air travelers going through the Medford airport moderated a bit during July through September, but overall numbers still remain behind last year’s figures.

Through Sept. 30, a total of 720,818 passengers had either arrived at or departed from the airport, down 7.7% from the 2022 figure of 780,730 for the same period. September’s 86,591 passenger total was down 3.4% from the same month in 2022. August was down by 6.9% and July off 7%.

A decline in domestic airfare prices might have brought back more travelers, said Alan Bender, a member of the airport’s advisory committee and an emeritus professor from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

“My hypothesis is it’s a function of better fares and more aircraft than we had earlier in the year,” said Bender, explaining why Medford numbers are rebounding from a March low.

Earlier in the year, March saw a 19% decline, with April down 13%, May off 11% and June down by 9% compared to the same months in 2022. The year began with a 10% increase in January, but February saw a 4% decline.

Airlines reduced the number for flights to and from Medford earlier in the year. They may have viewed the Rogue Valley as a softer market and were moving planes to routes that were producing more revenue, Bender said at the time.

“Speaking of the country as a whole, fares are down now from what they were earlier in the year and last year. This is somewhat unexpected,” said Bender. Part of the reductions might be due to an increase in international travel attributed to people wanting to travel farther after the pandemic, making national travel a little softer.

Some of the recent uptick in local air passenger traffic might be attributable to a general increase in tourism. July through September saw an increase in demand for hotel rooms and other travel accommodations year over year, reported T. J. Holmes, senior vice president with Travel Medford.

“The airport is a major asset for us on the tourist side. It’s great to have all these different destinations right here in our backyard,” said Holmes. The Rogue Valley became a very popular drive market right after COVID, but now more tourists are arriving via flights, he said.

Flights can now connect passengers directly to 12 destinations: Seattle; Portland; Salt Lake City; Denver; San Francisco; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Burbank; Orange County, Calif.; San Diego; Phoenix and Phoenix Mesa. There are six carriers serving the airport.

United has helped boost passenger numbers by flying in three larger jets per day that carry 150 to 179 passengers, said Bender. Two of the flights come from Denver and one from San Francisco.

Traffic for September was up 4.6% on United Mainline and 10.2% on United Express compared to 2022, for a total of 32,379 passengers.

Alaska Airlines showed a decline of 7.9% for September compared to a year earlier. Alaska’s total for the month was 22,423 passengers.

Allegiant showed a 23.2% drop in September traffic compared to 2022, with 6,578 passengers. Its numbers were off 10.1% in July and 20.4% in August.

“Allegiant is totally opportunistic. If there’s a better option, they are going to do it,” said Bender. “The economy in this area is weaker than in some other areas.”

Business travel is still not back to where it was before the pandemic, according to Bender’s research.

“The current wisdom is that it is going to be a long time or it might never come fully back due to Zoom and virtual meetings. They have become something that is accepted,” he said.

Locally business travelers heading to Los Angeles will benefit when Alaska adds an early morning departure later this year with an evening return. That would allow someone to fly to L.A. for a day of meetings, Bender said.

“The new reality is the airlines have to make their money other ways. Business was their bread and butter,” said Bender. They are doing that with higher fares, charging for bags and promoting better seating, he said.

Medford now ranks fourth in Oregon in terms of passenger numbers, having been surpassed by Redmond, said Bender. Portland is first, with Eugene second.

Overall aviation operations at the airport are also behind 2022 numbers by 6.4% for the first nine months. An operation is either a takeoff or landing. There were 33,768 through Sept. 30, 2022, and 29,684 for the same period this year. The figures include airline, air taxi, general aviation and military flights.