Positive Revenue Growth Reflects An Industry Still In Recovery

The Air Transport Association of America (ATA) released a report Friday that passenger revenue, based on a sample group of carriers, rose 12.5 percent in April 2010 versus the same month in 2009, marking the fourth consecutive month of revenue growth. Approximately 0.5 percent more passengers traveled on U.S. airlines in April, while the average price to fly one mile rose nearly 14 percent. International passenger revenue rose 15 percent, led by a 37 percent gain in transpacific markets.

"The April jump in passenger revenue is a positive sign, and one showing that the U.S. industry is recovering gradually from last year's severely depressed levels," said ATA President and CEO James C. May. "Last year, domestic round-trip fares averaged $28 less than they did a decade earlier. In fact, year-ago fares were a staggering $117 short of keeping pace with inflation."

U.S. airlines saw cargo traffic, as measured in cargo revenue ton miles, rise 22 percent year over year (12 percent domestically and 30 percent internationally) in March 2010, driven by increased international trade. April 2010 cargo data is not yet available.

Annually, commercial aviation helps drive more than $1 trillion in U.S. economic activity and nearly 11 million U.S. jobs. On a daily basis, U.S. airlines operate approximately 25,000 flights in 80 countries, using more than 6,000 aircraft to carry an average of two million passengers and 50,000 tons of cargo.

FMI: www.airlines.org