'War' is Nearly Over; SARS Still Has Effect on Pacific Travel

The Air Transport Association (ATA) has reported that traffic declines for the nation’s airlines began to lessen last week, on positive news concerning the war in Iraq, coupled with deeply discounted airfares. The Pacific region, however, experienced an unprecedented drop in traffic of 35.7 percent. Systemwide traffic for the week ending April 13 remained down by 10.6 percent compared with the same period last year, improved from the 17.4 percent decline reported for the week ended April 6. Atlantic traffic fell 21.0 percent compared with the same week in 2002—a slight improvement over last week. Domestic traffic, reflecting holiday travel, saw some improvement, down 5.9 percent over the same week last year, compared to last week’s 14.7 percent year-over-year decline. Latin region traffic was relatively flat.

"While positive news about the war in Iraq and lower fares are bringing improved traffic results in some regions, progress is being eroded by significant declines in the Pacific [purple line], driven by SARS worries," said ATA President and CEO James C. May. "Our aviation system is facing unprecedented challenges as it struggles to reestablish economic stability. Now, more than ever, we need a coherent and consistent approach by government and industry, in order to meet the needs of our transportation-dependent economy."

FMI: www.airlines.org/public/industry/bin/WarTraffic.PDF