U.S. airlines carried 3.4% fewer passengers in July from a year
earlier, the 16th-straight month of declines, although traffic rose
7.1% from June, the Department of Transportation said Friday.
Airlines have been cutting capacity for more than a year now,
first in response to record fuel prices and then to cope with a
deep drop in demand.
The DOT's Bureau of Transportation Statistics said airlines
carried 68.1 million scheduled passengers in July.
The same airlines and airports came out on top of the traffic
data as in June. Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) again carried the
most total system and domestic passengers, and AMR Corp.'s (AMR)
American Airlines again carried the most passengers abroad.
Among airports, Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson was on top in total
and domestic traffic, while Miami International again had the most
passengers traveling internationally.
-By Joan E. Solsman, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2291;
joan.solsman@dowjones.com