US Airways Group Inc. (LCC) and AMR Corp.'s (AMR) American
Airlines both reported a fall in traffic in September from a year
earlier as they continued to cut capacity, although American
Airlines' steeper capacity drop helped it post an improvement in
the amount of seats filled.
In early trading US Airways shares rose 3.94% to $4.48, though
they're down about 40% this year. AMR was up 3.75% at $7.74, having
fallen about 25% in 2009.
AMR said the amount of seats filled on American Airlines flights
was up to 79.4% last month from 76.6% a year earlier. Capacity fell
6.9%, more than offsetting a 3.5% drop in traffic. US Airways said
its load factor was 79.3% in September, down 0.8 percentage point,
as capacity was cut 0.6% and traffic fell 1.6%.
Meanwhile, passenger revenue per available seat mile, a key
industry performance measurement, slumped 15% last month as
carriers have been cutting fares in an attempt to stoke demand.
For the third quarter, load factor edged up to 84% from 83.9%,
with capacity down 3.5% and traffic off 3.4%.
-By Joan E. Solsman, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2291;
joan.solsman@dowjones.com