Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) officials are hoping connections made in 2024 will pay off in the form of additional service options to Asia in 2025.
Authority staff attended three conferences in Asia over the past year, with a total of 51 face-to-face meetings promoting the D.C. region and Dulles International Airport.
Forging interpersonal connections are vital in the Asian market, MWAA Vice President of Airline Business Development Paul Bobson said during an authority committee meeting last Wednesday (Jan. 15).
Bobson noted that service to China remains constrained, with just two flights per week traveling between Dulles and the world’s most populous country. Russia’s ongoing war on Ukraine has also limited the ability of carriers to serve Asia nonstop from the U.S. East Coast.
In 2023, Dulles saw its highest international-passenger count ever, but Bobson told authority members there are plenty of areas in Asia where growth potential exists.
He pointed to Singapore, Bangkok, Taipei, Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam and a number of urban centers in India as possible future destinations.
Questioned by several board members on what incentives might be needed to lure new service, Bobson said MWAA provides marketing support for a maximum of 24 months for new service, but doesn’t waive or reduce costs charged all airlines for use of airport facilities.
At an MWAA board meeting held later the same day, CEO Jack Potter said he expects final 2024 passenger count to exceed 27 million at Dulles, the highest in the airport’s 63-year history.
Reagan National Airport is expected to report 26 million passengers for 2024, and both airports experienced “a record-setting holiday season,” according to Potter.
Chryssa Westerlund, the authority’s executive vice president and chief revenue officer, said 2024 also brought record parking revenue and record concession sales at the two Northern Virginia airports.
The past year also saw United Airlines announce plans for a massive expansion at Dulles, where it already is the dominant carrier.
“Our partnership with United is stronger now that at an time in its 40-year history,” Potter told the board of directors.
