Sacramento airport businesses

from today's Sacramento Bee (8/19):

Sacramento airport businesses flying high despite economic turbulence
By Mark Glover - mglover@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PDT Tuesday, August 19, 2008

"There's a local place where businesses are doing well in these uncertain economic times: Sacramento International Airport.

Restaurants and stores inside the airport's A and B terminals are holding up amid economic volatility, tight credit and reduced spending by consumers whose confidence has been shaken.

Airport retail stores generated $13.4 million in sales from July 2007 to May, airport officials said. That was up nearly 23 percent from $10.9 million for the same period a year ago.

Airport food and beverage outlets had sales of $21.8 million through May, up 5.4 percent from $20.7 million a year ago." ...

"The cost of operating at the airport ranges from 11 to 18 percent of revenues for food/beverage services. For retail operations, it's 10 to 12 percent.

Richard Nelson, general manager of Nelson's Books and News in Terminal A, said businesses operating in the more-modern Terminal A have an advantage being amid gates served by Southwest Airlines, by far the largest carrier in Sacramento. The older Terminal B is scheduled to be torn down, part of a planned $1.27 billion airport expansion." ...

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