Passenger traffic for US airlines down from pace of 2007
23 Oct 2008
International and domestic passenger traffic on US airlines through July 2008 totaled 448.5 million, registering a drop of 0.8 per cent from July 2007, according to the Bureau of Statistics of the US Department of Transportation.
The bureau of statistics reported that US airlines flew 1.5 per cent fewer domestic passengers and 4.5 per cent more international passengers in the first seven months of 2008, as compared to the corresponding period for 2007.
In July 2008, which is the most recent month for which data is available, US airlines ferried 70.3 million domestic and international passengers, down 2.9 per cent from July 2007. This is the fifth straight monthly decline against data from the corresponding month of 2007.
Domestic passenger traffic dropped 3.5 per cent in July from a year ago while international passengers increased 1.3 per cent. Amongst US airlines, Southwest carried 61.6 million passengers on its system during the first seven months of 2008, the highest by any airline. Southwest flew 9.4 million passengers on its system in July, again, the most by any airline.
Amongst US airports, Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport was the busiest airport in the US during the first seven months of 2008, with 25.3 million domestic and international passenger boarding flights from its terminals.
In July, Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson again ranked as the busiest US airport with 4.1 million boardings on US carriers.
