For the fourth consecutive month, since American Eagle became Meridian’s commercial air carrier, passenger boardings at Meridian Regional Airport have outstripped boardings from the same month of the previous year, a Meridian Regional Airport press release states.

    In addition, on-time performance has also far surpassed what it was under the previous carrier, Silver Airways.

    Boardings in February totaled 1,119, compared with 254 in February of 2014, an increase of more than 340 percent, the press release states.

    On-time performance, within 15 minutes, jumped from 59.4 percent under Silver to 76.6 percent under American Eagle.

    “That’s an increase in reliability of 28.9 percent,” according to the press release. “On-time performance within 30 minutes also increased — from 65.6 percent to 87.2 percent. That’s a jump of 33 percent.”

    “February is traditionally one of the slowest months for commercial aviation,” according to Tom Williams, president and CEO of Meridian Regional Airport. “These numbers tell me that, if we continue to offer reliable, efficient flights at competitive rates, we can see our passenger boardings increase significantly as we enter the busier travel months.”