Airline Industru Recovery, by Peter Greenberg

Airline Industry Recovery Continues: Traffic Up, Number Of Empty Seats Down

Airline Industry Recovery Continues: Traffic Up, Number Of Empty Seats Down Several American air carriers reported Friday that they filled a higher percentage of seats in November than in the same time period last year, another indicator of the airline industry’s gradual recovery. American Airlines reported this morning that it was able to fill 80.4 percent of its seats last month. The increase is a slight bump over last year when American was able to fill 79.6 percent of its seats. In addition to the increase in capacity, American’s traffic increased by 4.3 percent with the largest increases being seen on Pacific routes. Flights in the Pacific increased by 21.4 percent, and Latin American routes also received a bump over last year, with traffic increasing 8.3 percent. American’s regional partner, American Eagle, saw traffic gains as well this year. Traffic soared up 18.1 percent and capacity rose by 14 percent for the Fort Worth-based company. American Eagle saw 72.9 percent of its seats filled in November up 2.5 percent over November 2009.