CHICAGO – Both domestic and international traffic on U.S. airlines fell sharply in November from the year-ago period as the effects of the Sept. 11 jetliner attacks lingered, a U.S. airline industry group reported on Monday.
The Air Transport Association, the trade group representing most major U.S. airlines, said the number of domestic boardings on airplanes in November fell 19.5 percent to 35.4 million, down from 44.0 million in the year-ago period.
Domestic revenue passenger miles, representing paying passengers flying one mile, fell 17.7 percent, and available seat miles, which measure capacity, were down 14.8 percent. That led to a domestic load factor, or average percentage of seats filled, of 68.2 percent, down 2.5 points from November of 2000.
International traffic reported by the U.S. airlines, measured by revenue passenger miles, fell 27.4 percent and capacity fell 18.4 percent. Load factor was down 7.9 points to 63.9 percent.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox