Signs that US aviation slump may be easing
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Passenger traffic for the six largest US carriers declined again in last month, however the latest results show some encouraging signs for the aviation industry. According to a Bloomberg report, the combined carriers’ passenger figures for March 2009 fell 11% year-on-year, less than the 11.4% seen in February.
The results hint at stabilization in demand after the economic downturn caused business and leisure travel to slump. The sentiment was echoed by industry analysts.
“There might be some early signs that things are improving,” Matthew Jacob, an analyst at Majestic Research LLC in New York, was quoted saying. “The traffic numbers do show there is a willingness to travel but, unfortunately for the airlines, they have to really push prices down to get tickets sold,” Jacob added.
One airline that didn’t see a March bounce was Delta – the world’s largest carrier. The Atlanta-based airline’s March traffic fell 13.8% year-on-year, due to a slump in overseas travel. The result was much worse than 8.8% drop it experienced in February. Southwest Airlines, the biggest discounter, had the best results, with a year-on-year decline of less than 1%.
Bloomberg reported Michael Derchin, an analyst at FTN Midwest Research Securities in New York, as saying that he believes the industry may finally may bottomed-out.
“March was a tough month but likely to mark the trough in this cycle,” Derchin was reported saying.
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