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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Barbershop-style singers help local schools ... Water plant upgrade to increase water bills ... Giving back to the givers ... Barbershop-style singers help local schools ... Water plant upgrade to increase water bills ... Giving back to the givers ... TRANSPORTATION Medford airport's record run continues Other Northwest regional airfields also seeing growth Comment By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 14, 2015 at 5:26 PM By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 14, 2015 at 5:26 PM » Social News The Medford airport racked-up another record month in March, with 57,825 travelers passing through the gates. Without the benefit of a new carrier or new destination — although Allegiant Air will restore seasonal service to Mesa, Arizona, later this spring — the airport has put together its strongest 10-month performance ever, capped by seven consecutive record periods. The 10.9 percent year-over-year gain was the largest for a March in a decade. "It's not the 20 percent we'd seen the first two months," airport Director Bern Case said. "But it's hard to complain when you're up almost 11 percent any month." Through the first three months of the year, the airport is running 16.7 percent ahead of 2014. By comparison, the 156,063 passengers for that period was just short of the entire 1981 calendar year count of 167,087.  Case admits good times are always tenuous in his industry. All it takes to ruin an otherwise strong season is a spike in fuel prices or a domestic terrorism event. For now, however, he'll take it. "Barring something with a global or nationwide influence, I think we can keep it going," Case said. Last month, Alaska Air Group's Horizon accounted for 30,920 passengers, up 15.8 percent over March 2014. Delta Connection was up 22.8 percent, and United Express, bolstered by additional seats on regional jets, grew 11.2 percent. Allegiant Air slumped 16.8 percent. The Rogue Valley is not the only place where air travel is skyrocketing. Similar-sized, non-hub Northwest airfields are tracking with the Jackson County-operated airport.  Double-digit passenger increases have been the norm for the airport in Missoula, Mont., where Frontier Airline arrived last June, creating fare competition and more destinations. Tri-Cities Airport in Pasco, Washington, has also seen growth, albeit not as much as Medford. Commercial travel increased 12.7 percent out of Missoula in 2014, said Brian Ellestad, Missoula's deputy airport director. In March the jump was 14 percent. While Portland, the Bay Area and Sacramento may bleed off outbound travel from Medford, there's less gravitational pull than in the past from Spokane, Wash., or Bozeman, Mont., Ellestad said. "Our gains have been price driven," Ellestad said. "Right now the flights out of here are pretty much split between Denver and Seattle." The number of departures from Missoula varies between 12 and 15 during winter months and jumps to 20 in the summer. "Tourism is a big deal for Montana, but we're seeing a growing business market, as well," he said. "We're still supporting oil activity on the eastern side of the state, and we have pharmaceutical labs and high-tech moving into Missoula." Just like in Medford, passenger gains have been based on jets replacing 30- and 50-passenger prop planes. Delta is even flying Airbus A320s on routes to Minneapolis-St. Paul and Salt Lake City. In southeast Washington, Tri-Cities Airport in Pasco, run by the Port of Pasco, saw a decline in 2013 after federal funding for cleaning up the Hanford nuclear site ended. But Tri-Cities saw a 1 percent gain last year, said Ron Foraker, who oversees the airport. Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 541-776-4463 or  [email protected] . Follow him on Twitter at  www.twitter.com/GregMTBusiness , on Facebook at  https://www.facebook.com/greg.stiles.31 , and read his blog at  www.mailtribune.com/ Economic Edge .           By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 14, 2015 at 5:26 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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