According to AP, a trade group for U.S. airlines says that the number of passengers will drop 6.7 percent this summer due of the recession.
The Air Transport Association said it expects the number of passengers to drop by 14 million, to 195 million between June 1 and Aug. 31, compared with the same period last year. It expects domestic travel to drop 7 percent to 171 million passengers, and international travel to fall 6 percent to 24 million passengers.
The crowds can be misleading as airlines have been reducing capacity, by cutting routes or using smaller planes. So, don’t expect empty seats.
ATA President and CEO James May say the result is that even with traffic down, the airplanes that are still flying are nearly full.
Last week’s overbooked flight with several on stand by from JFK to LAX was a sign of the times. There’s no excess fat or elbowroom on today’s flights.
Several airlines have also sharply reduced their Mexico schedules this summer.
