Summer Air Travel Likely to Grow
Cheap airplane tickets and cheap vacation packages are expected to continue to be plentiful, particularly on domestic flights, according to the Air Transport Association (ATA). International travel is anticipated to strongly outperform domestic travel.
The number of domestic passengers this summer is projected to be relatively flat, with only a one percent increase, whereas international travel on U.S. carriers is forecasted up 7 percent.
Slightly over two million travelers are expected to fly between June 1st and August 1st.
The anticipated overall increase in the number of fliers is seen as a positive sign for the economy and an indication of the start of an airline industry recovery according to the ATA.
Historically spring and summer travel is the when most people fly. The airline industry continues to lose billions, but is better off than last year, given that demand for seats is on the rise. Airlines are also better positioned now in that by cutting capacity last year, there are fewer remaining seats.
The Airlines biggest immediate challenge looks to be fuel prices which are hurting their financial performance given that fuel prices are forecasted to be at least 20 percent more this summer than last and domestic fares are remaining relatively stable.
$32 billion was spent on fuel in 09 by U.S. passenger and cargo airlines.
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