SAN ANTONIO — Last year, San Antonio Airport System activity reflected the slowly rebounding economy — and not in a good way. Its passenger traffic was flat, and revenue fell 11 percent as officials cut airline fees to stay competitive.

But up the road, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport rocked it in 2013, setting a record for passenger traffic that topped 10 million people and beat San Antonio by 1.8 million. Revenue was up 8 percent thanks to services and concessions such as the foodie favorite Salt Lick Bar-B-Que.

San Antonio's nonstop service to 35 destinations compared to Austin's 41, including London's Heathrow Airport. Passenger traffic rose 6 percent in Austin, compared with 0.11 percent in San Antonio.

In annual reports, both airports boasted of better ambiance, new places to eat and shop, and expedited security clearance. San Antonio touted growing commuter traffic to Mexico, completion of its $35 million Terminal A renovation project and an industry first-place award for improvement. Austin got a first-place honor, too — for its all-hands-on-deck response to the opening 2 miles away of the Circuit of the Americas race track for Formula 1 U.S. Grand Prix.

The day after the 2013 race, 22,759 passengers departed out of Austin-Bergstrom. That broke the single-day record of 21,725, set the day after the 2012 race.

“It's like another Thanksgiving,” airport spokesman Jim Halbrook said.

Airlines also bring in bigger jets and schedule more flights for the South by Southwest music, film and tech festival, Halbrook said.

British Airways' weekday service to London reflects the city's high-tech status, he said, and has proved an ideal market for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

“It's the right-size aircraft for our market,” he said. “Before, you would have to fill up a 747, and you're talking 400-plus seats. With the Dreamliner, you're talking about 300 seats, and it has the range.”

In San Antonio, officials said the airport held steady passenger-wise and boosted nonairline revenue from parking, leases and concession contracts — enough to allow them to charge airlines less.

“So we were 11 percent successful year over year,” said Barbara Prossen, marketing and community relations director for the city's aviation department, referring to the 11 percent drop in revenue.

Prossen said passenger traffic through the airport continued the slow climb back toward levels reached in 2008, when the facility saw a record 8.4 million passengers. The number in 2013 was 8.3 million. She said the airport was recovering from 2009, when passenger numbers fell 6.2 percent, to 7.8 million.

Airport officials also said high fuel prices and the loss of UPS traffic bound for the Lubbock area hurt. UPS in February opened a gateway in Lubbock that connects directly with a UPS international air hub in Louisville, Kentucky.

“Our economy mirrors what you're seeing here,” Prossen said. “It's been a slow recovery, and as you know from the consumer price index, we're really kind of flat as a country.”

General aviation through Stinson Municipal Airport in 2013 took its second consecutive double-digit percentage dive.

So should San Antonio, with a metropolitan-area population of 2.3 million, feel outdone airport-wise by Austin, with a metro-area population of 1.25 million?

Economists familiar with both metros said it was no secret that while San Antonio's economy was doing well, Austin's was booming, and in a manner that required more flights than San Antonio.

“It's no big scoop that Austin's economy has been growing a little faster than San Antonio's, and that's typical historically coming out of a recession,” said Steve Nivin, director of the SABÉR Research Institute, a partnership between St. Mary's University and the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

“It doesn't mean that we're doing poorly right now or anything,” he said. “They're driven by (information technology) for a large part, and that's been a leading sector coming out of the recession.”

Kevin Klowden, managing economist with the Milken Institute think tank in California, said that while “halo” events such as festivals and the Grand Prix helped, it came down to differing cities attracting different types of jobs.

The institute ranked Austin the nation's best-performing city for 2013, a ranking San Antonio scored in 2011. San Antonio in 2013 came in 12th.

“There is an inferiority complex, but from our standpoint, we think San Antonio looks pretty good.” Klowden said. “It just happens that Austin is attracting certain kinds of businesses, and I really think tech and entertainment are at the heart of that. There's a lot of flying that goes on for those.”

lbrezosky@express-news.net