US airlines reports pax eased 0.6% in Dec-2009, Southwest the remains largest airline

US Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reports (11-Mar-2010) the following system (domestic and international) traffic results for US airlines in Dec-2009:

• Passenger numbers: 57.0 million, -0.6% year-on-year;
• Load factor: 80.4%, +1.9 ppt;
• Flights: 769,600, -2.1%;
• Flight stage length: 725.4 miles, +0.5%.

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

• Southwest Airlines: 8.4 million, +4.9% year-on-year;
• American: 7.1 million, -2.8%;
• Delta: 5.4 million, -7.9%;
• United: 4.3 million, -6.8%;
• US Airways: 4.0 million, -7.4%;
• Continental: 3.7 million, +1.4%;
• Northwest: 3.0 million, -12.9%;
• AirTran: 2.0 million, +1.7%;
• JetBlue: 2.0 million, +6.6%;
• SkyWest: 1.8 million, +25.0%. [more]