Even With Holiday/Holy Day Travel, RPMs Down 10+%

The Air Transport Association wanted you to know that, despite the occurrence of Easter and Passover during the month of April this year (versus March of last year), airlines continue to see significant declines in traffic from last year’s depressed levels. Systemwide revenue passenger miles (RPMs) for the week ended April 20 were down 10.5% compared with the same period in 2002.

Atlantic and Pacific Routes Just Died

Traffic declines in the Atlantic and Pacific regions continued, with RPMs down 25.8% and 39.6%, respectively, compared with the same week last year. Domestic traffic fell 4.7%, while Latin traffic rose 4.4%.

SARS a Significant Factor

"The weak economy and concerns over SARS continue to affect the airline industry," said ATA President and CEO James C. May. "With the war well on its way to completion and the nation placed back on Code Yellow, the airlines are hopeful travelers will begin to take real advantage of fare sales being offered by many carriers."

ASMs Changed to Reflect Changing Travel Patterns

In response to the declines in traffic, carriers have made adjustments to capacity, with available seat miles (ASMs) reduced by 10.1 percent systemwide for the week ended April 20. Atlantic capacity was the most affected, with ASMs down 23.7 percent, followed by Pacific capacity, which fell 16.1 percent. Domestic capacity fell 7.8 percent, while Latin capacity increased slightly by 1.8 percent.

The Air Transport Association of America, Inc. is the trade association for leading U.S. airlines. ATA members transport 95 percent of all passenger and cargo traffic in the United States.

FMI: www.airlines.org