But Overall Numbers Still Up For 2008

The number of scheduled domestic and international passengers on US airlines during the first five months of 2008 grew by 0.1 percent from the same period in 2007, reaching 310.4 million, 0.3 million more than a year earlier, the US Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported Thursday.

Despite the encouraging news, however, there are signs it might not last. BTS also noted that in May, the most recent data month, US airlines carried 65.9 million scheduled domestic and international passengers... 1.3 percent less than in May 2007, the third consecutive monthly decline from the same month of the previous year.

The number of domestic passengers decreased 2.3 percent in May from a year earlier and international passengers increased 6.5 percent. US airlines carried 0.6 percent fewer domestic passengers and 5.7 percent more international passengers during the first five months of 2008 than during the same period in 2007.

Overall, Southwest Airlines carried more total system and more domestic passengers for the first five months than any other US airline. American Airlines carried more international passengers than any other US carrier.

US carriers operated 4.3 million domestic and international flights in the first five months of 2008, 1.6 percent fewer than were operated during the same period in 2007. Domestic flights decreased 1.9 percent from the previous year while international flights were up 1.7 percent.

In May, US airlines operated 888,000 scheduled domestic and international flights, down 3.1 percent from the number of flights operated in May 2007 (Table 1). The number of domestic flights decreased 3.5 percent in May from a year earlier while international flights were up 1.0 percent.

FMI: Read The Full BTS Release