Budget Carrier Surpasses All Others For Capacity In August

It was very close... and the outcome is VERY surprising. Southwest hauled more passengers than any other US carrier in August.... including those airlines that fly all over the world.

The budget airline handled 8.7 million passengers -- beating out the world's largest airline, American Airlines, by 200,000.

Those figures are based on enplanements -- that's the number of passengers setting foot in a plane for one flight. A two-hop flight for one passenger would be counted as two passengers.

American Airlines bases its claims as the world's largest carrier on revenue passenger miles -- that's a measure of miles flown by a paying passenger.

Up to now, Southwest has never been considered a "major player" in the US airline industry. It looks as though it quietly snuck among the big boys in August!

Southwest is acknowledged as the world's largest low-fare carrier. The airline has been in the black since 1991, even showing a profit during one of the worst downturns for the industry in history.

The Dallas-based carrier took advantage of other airline's financial difficulties since the 9/11 attacks expanding at a rapid rate.

Low-fare carriers as a group continue to expand much more rapidly than traditional carriers. Industry experts say budget airlines have roughly doubled capacity over the past half decade -- they now control 17% of seats worldwide.

Congratulations to those airlines shamelessly offering a bag of pretzels as an inflight meal -- and the passengers willing to pay for it!

FMI: www.southwest.com