Impressive ratings continue to spotlight Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport after a press release confirmed another Aa3 rating given by Moody’s Investors Service last week. According to the release, Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport received stellar ratings on the senior and junior lien bonds. In addition to the ratings, the Standard & Poor’s Rating Services (S&P) credited the airport for its consistency in meeting financial goals throughout its 83 years of history.
“The ratings on PHX reflect our opinion of the airport’s very strong enterprise risk and financial risk profiles,” Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings credit analyst Andrew Bredeson said in a previous release. “The very strong enterprise risk profile reflects the large hub airport’s strong demand base and level of origin and destination enplanements, and good pricing power, supported by a lack of significant competition within the primary service area and a history of maintaining a competitive cost structure,”
The airport continues to create new business milestones, coming a long way from its humble beginnings in 1935 at 235 acres and with only one runway when the city of Phoenix originally purchased it. In the early days of Sky Harbor, it was nicknamed “The Farm” because of its rural location. Fast forward to 2018, and the airport is expanding even more by adding an eighth concourse to Terminal 4. This addition is said to provide occupation opportunities for Southwest Airlines and is currently estimated as a $310 million project, according to the planning and development review. An extension to the PHX Sky Train is planned as well as other modernization projects, set to be open in early 2022.
“As the largest economic engine in Phoenix, Sky Harbor is one of our most valuable assets, said Phoenix Mayor Thelda Williams. “This new rating reaffirms Sky Harbor as a world-class airport that attracts new investments to the region and strengthens our growing global economy.”