US airline traffic drops off in September

U.S. carriers saw 8.4 percent fewer passengers in September than in the same month in 2007, which represents a decrease of five million passengers, according to the latest statistics released by the U.S. Department of Transportation on Thursday – providing further evidence of weakened travel demand.

The transportation department noted that preliminary findings show 54.2 million passengers flying on domestic and international services operated by U.S. carriers during the month of September. September’s decline is the seventh consecutive month that passenger numbers have fallen.

In the report the impact of capacity reductions that many carriers instituted in September became evident. As compared with the previous September, airlines in the U.S. operated 9.4 percent fewer flights for the month.

Preliminary figures released by the department’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics further confirm reports from the airlines regarding weakened demand. According to airline officials, the largest declines actually occurred during October and November, which was after the most recent transportation department figures were compiled.

As compared with the first nine months of 2007, the number of passengers carried by airline in the US for the same period this year has declined by 2.1 per cent.

Southwest Airlines continued to carry the largest number of passengers in September, at 7.4 million. Jointly, Delta Air Lines and its newly-acquired Northwest Airlines carried 9.1 million.

www.dot.gov