Passengers Down In December But "Gap Closing" Says ATA

The Air Transport Association of America (ATA) reported this week that passenger enplanements were down 14.2 percent, on average, in December.

The number of enplanements declined 14.7 percent, domestically, and 9.9 percent, internationally. But ATA Chief Economist David Swierenga said: "Carriers are continuing to close the gap on last year's results, and as traffic has improved, they have been slowly adding service."

Domestic revenue passenger miles (RPMs) declined 13.2 percent, while international RPMs decreased 14.5 percent. (Revenue passenger mile is the industry term used to quantify the volume of business; one RPM equals one fare-paying passenger transported one mile.)

The system-wide load factor was 68.6 percent in December 2001, compared to 69.2 percent in December 2000. The domestic load factor was 67.2 percent and the international load factor was 72.7 percent in December 2001, compared to 68.7 percent and 70.6 percent respectively, a year ago. (Load factor is the percentage of seating that is utilized.)

In November the ATA reported that passenger enplanements were down 19.8 percent, on average. The number of enplanements declined 19.5 percent, domestically, and 23.4 percent internationally.

Domestic revenue passenger miles (RPMs) declined 17.7 percent, while international RPMs decreased 27.4 percent

David Swierenga observed: "Passengers traveling over the Thanksgiving holiday were able to take advantage of the lower airfares being offered, and as a result, the industry's post September 11 passenger traffic growth continued to improve."

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