LCC Reports Flat Numbers, But American Takes A Big Dip

Two Dallas, TX-based carriers have released their March 2009 traffic numbers... and let's just say "flat" was the best they could hope for.

Low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines announced Monday it flew 6.7 billion revenue passenger miles in March 2009, a level "essentially flat" with March 2008 numbers. The carrier also noted its efforts to reduce capacity have apparently been successful, with the 1.5 percent decrease in available seat miles closely matching a 1.2 percent drop in load factor.

Disturbingly, Southwest's revenue per ASM decreased "in the 10 to 11 percent range" compared with March 2008 numbers... meaning seats that are filled with passengers are generating substantially less revenue for the airline.

Things were much worse for American Airlines, headquartered to the west in Fort Worth. On Friday, American reported a March load factor of 79.2 percent, a decrease of 4.8 points versus the same period last year. Traffic decreased 10.9 percent and capacity decreased 5.6 percent year over year.

The airline added its domestic traffic decreased 10.6 percent year over year in March 2009, on 8.2 percent less capacity. American's international traffic decreased a staggering 11.6 percent relative to last year, on a capacity decrease of just 1.1 percent.

American, like other legacy carriers, had banked heavily on lucrative international traffic bolstering their bottom line during an economic recession. That plan may be in need of reconsideration.

FMI: www.southwest.com, www.aa.com