KSLA News 12 Shreveport, Louisiana |Airline traffic declines ease in April
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Associated Press - May 8, 2009 7:35 AM ET
DALLAS (AP) - Passenger traffic is still falling on nearly all U.S. airlines, but the steep March nosedive has yieled to a more gentle April decline.
That's fueling hope that the worst of the travel slump may be over, but analysts say it's too early to declare a turning point for the airlines. The industry suffered huge losses and falling revenue in the first quarter. Now, it says the increase in traffic is coming from budget-conscious consumers who are reacting to cheap sales.
Airlines measure traffic in miles flown by paying customers - it doesn't matter how much they paid.
United Airlines reported that last month's traffic declined 10.5% compared with April 2008, but the declines were much smaller at Delta, Fort Worth-based American Airlines and others.
Dallas-based Southwest Airlines beat everybody with a 4.1% increase in traffic, which it credited to Easter falling in April this year instead of March last year.
Even if travel demand is no longer in a free-fall, the best customers could be slower to return. Those are high-paying business travelers. The airlines say travel is 1 of the first items businesses cut in a recession, and they've seen more corporate travelers switch from first-class to cheaper coach seats.
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