The next thing to being there.

• Position: Raleigh-Durham International Airport effectively comptetes with Charlotte Douglas International Airport

Manager John Brantley says the two best things that ever happened to Raleigh-Durham International Airport were when American Airlines located a hub there in 1987 and, eight years later, when American shut it down. By late December, with 26 competing airlines carrying record numbers of passengers and ticket sales on track to exceed $1 billion two years in a row, it was hard to fault his reasoning.

Airport analysts credit competition. Conversely, they blame lack of it in Charlotte, where Arlington, Va.-based US Airways Inc. carries more than 90% of passengers, for high fares and limited choices of airlines there. City leaders have tried unsuccessfully to attract major competitors.

Through November, about 9.5 million passengers had flown to and from RDU, up 17.4% from a year earlier, according to spokeswoman Teresa Damiano. Fares were lower, but higher volume was likely to push ticket sales beyond the $1.01 billion of 1999. While Charlotte! Douglas International Airport had recorded 19.2 million passengers through October, up 7.3% from a year earlier, RDU continued to carry substantially more Tar Heels. More than 81% of its passengers begin or end flights there, compared with Charlotte, where 80% merely are changing planes.

The two airports were part of a transportation industry that was mostly prospering. They and Piedmont Triad International Airport, outside Greensboro, were building and expanding, along with the ports at Wilmington and Morehead City. The segment feeling a pinch was trucking. Two years after begging for drivers, some firms were laying them off. Blame fuel costs and overall economic cooling.

Still, the big news was aviation. RDU had exceeded $1 billion in ticket sales for the first time only two years ago, due partly to the arrival of Southwest Airlines Co., a Dallas-based low-cost carrier. The airline has a reputation for forcing competitors to drop prices, and a state study late in 2000 showed fares down 30%. RDTJ had 7.3 million passengers who started or ended flights there in 1999, surpassing Charlotte, which had 6.4 million. Charlotte's higher fares generated more ticket revenue -- $1.17 billion vs. $1.04 billion. RDU has 26 airlines, compared with 13 in Charlotte.

Southwest last year boarded 50,000 passengers a month at RDU, but the airport also is home to Morrisville-based Midway Airlines Inc. The carrier, founded in Chicago in 1993, moved to the Triangle in 1995 after American shut down its hub.

Despite complaints...