|
US finally out of 'the hole'
TRAVELCONSUMERDAILY.COM IT HAS taken a decade of shocks that saw air travel drop about 25% overnight after September 11, 2001, and a more recent recession that depressed demand, but America’s airlines have reported that air travel in the US has finally inched past the levels that existed in the year 2000. The Air Transport Association of America (ATA) has reported that passenger revenue, based on a sample group of carriers, rose 25% in June 2010 compared to the same month in 2009, marking the sixth consecutive month of revenue growth. For the 12 months ending June 2010, passenger revenue was approximately 0.5% greater than calendar year 2000 levels. About 1.4% more passengers travelled on US airlines in June while the average price to fly one mile rose 20%. International passenger revenue rose 38%, led by a 58% gain in trans-Pacific markets. “It is clear from these positive results that the recovering US economy is enabling airlines to dig out from the very deep hole of a year ago,” said ATA President and CEO James May. US airlines saw cargo traffic, as measured in cargo revenue ton miles, rise 22% year over year (7 percent domestically and 35 percent internationally) in May 2010, driven by increased international trade. June 2010 cargo data is not yet available.
Comment on this article |
