United Airlines says traffic fell in February
AP ONLINE
Posted: 2009-03-03 18:28:00
CHICAGO (AP) — United Airlines said Tuesday that its traffic fell 17.2 percent in February, as the downturn in demand for air travel gained speed.
United said miles flown by paying passengers in February fell to 6.75 billion compared with 8.15 billion in the same month last year. Including regional affiliates of parent UAL Corp., traffic dropped 15.2 percent.
The decline in traffic was sharpest on trans-Pacific and Latin American routes, both down more than 24 percent. In North America, the decrease was 13.8 percent compared with a 21.9 percent drop on international flights.
The February decline was much steeper than the 10.9 percent decrease in January compared with January 2008, as grim economic news has piled up.
Chicago-based United is cutting capacity to cope with the slump in demand. Available seat miles declined 15.9 percent to 9.22 billion from 10.96 billion a year earlier. Including regional operations, UAL's capacity fell 14 percent.
With traffic falling faster than capacity, United's load factor or average occupancy slipped to 73.3 percent from 74.4 percent in February 2008. Including regional operations, occupancy slid to 73.2 percent from 74.2 percent a year earlier.
Airlines have been cutting capacity to deal with a downturn in air travel caused by the recession. Many airlines have offered aggressive fare sales to boost traffic in the spring and summer.
UAL shares fell 32 cents, or 7.5 percent, to $3.94. They have ranged from $2.80 to $30.58 in the past year. The shares were at $9 a month ago.
AP ONLINE
Posted: 2009-03-03 18:28:00
CHICAGO (AP) — United Airlines said Tuesday that its traffic fell 17.2 percent in February, as the downturn in demand for air travel gained speed.
United said miles flown by paying passengers in February fell to 6.75 billion compared with 8.15 billion in the same month last year. Including regional affiliates of parent UAL Corp., traffic dropped 15.2 percent.
The decline in traffic was sharpest on trans-Pacific and Latin American routes, both down more than 24 percent. In North America, the decrease was 13.8 percent compared with a 21.9 percent drop on international flights.
The February decline was much steeper than the 10.9 percent decrease in January compared with January 2008, as grim economic news has piled up.
Chicago-based United is cutting capacity to cope with the slump in demand. Available seat miles declined 15.9 percent to 9.22 billion from 10.96 billion a year earlier. Including regional operations, UAL's capacity fell 14 percent.
With traffic falling faster than capacity, United's load factor or average occupancy slipped to 73.3 percent from 74.4 percent in February 2008. Including regional operations, occupancy slid to 73.2 percent from 74.2 percent a year earlier.
Airlines have been cutting capacity to deal with a downturn in air travel caused by the recession. Many airlines have offered aggressive fare sales to boost traffic in the spring and summer.
UAL shares fell 32 cents, or 7.5 percent, to $3.94. They have ranged from $2.80 to $30.58 in the past year. The shares were at $9 a month ago.