US airlines report 3% fall in Jul-2009 pax

US Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reports (16-Oct-2009) the following total system (domestic and international) traffic results for US airlines in Jul-2009:

• Passenger numbers: 68.1 million, -3.4% year-on-year;
• Passenger traffic (RPMs): -3.3%;
• Capacity (ASMs): -5.9%;
• Load factor: 86.4%, +2.3 ppts;
• Flights: 866,500, -6.3%;
• Average flight stage length: 724.3 miles, -0.7%.

According to BTS, Southwest Airlines remained the largest US airline, by total scheduled system enplanements in Jul-2009. The top ten airlines are as follows:

• Southwest: 9.6 million, +2.1% year-on-year;
• American: 8.2 million, -7.3%;
• Delta: 6.6 million, -3.7%;
• United: 5.4 million, -9.3%;
• US Airways: 4.7 million, -7.6%;
• Continental: 4.3 million, -4.5%;
• Northwest: 4.2 million, -9.8%;
• AirTran: 2.4 million, -3.4%;
• JetBlue: 2.2 million, +4.3%;
• SkyWest: 2.0 million, +4.2%. [more]