The grounding of Boeing 737 Max jets won’t stop another record summer for air travel in the US.
Even though thousands of flights have been and continue to be canceled, trade group Airlines for America expects air passenger traffic to rise 3.4% this summer to more than 257 million.
A4A expects an additional 93,000 passengers a day from June 1 to the end of August, and airlines are laying on an extra 111,000 seats to meet the demand.
If its forecast is accurate, it will be the 10th year in a row of summer air travel growth.
The group says airfares were down for the fourth consecutive year in 2018 when adjusted for inflation.
"It is now more affordable than ever before," said A4A chief economist John Heimlich, without referencing the record ancillary fees airlines are raking in from customers.
"US carriers are making airline flights more and more accessible so it’s no surprise that more and more Americans are flying.
The trade group took the opportunity to call for action over security concerns at the southern border.
A4A says travel and trade could be significantly impacted due to longer border checkpoint wait times as Customs officers are diverted from US airports.
"This would discourage leisure and business travel to the US and jeopardize the economic benfits that come with it,"
