Gerald R. Ford International Airport - Carlos Ruiz, Chief Commercial Officer
Carlos, who was recently hired to essentially run the business side of GRR, talked to us about the airport and where things are headed.
A few facts for the airport:
- Passenger traffic has nearly doubled to 4.3m passengers per year from 2014.
- The planes flying this year are nearly as full as they were last year - roughly 87%. Passenger count is down about 1.5% year over year.
- On the airport campus, there are over 100 businesses represented, with 2,500 employees, and 40,000 jobs supported in the community leading to 1.3B in household income.
- GRR is the states second largest airport.
- Jet fuel pricing is the main driver for airfare costs, and responsible for the increase this year.
- They're in the midst of a massive renovation of nearly the entire airport, including a new rental car terminal, baggage handling infrastructure, relocation of the air traffic control tower, and more.
- There are 35 nonstop options from GRR currently, with Santa Ana & Philadelphia added in 2026.
- Delta, American, Allegiant, United, and Southwest make up the bulk of the service.