Airlines for
America (A4A) is forecasting nearly 24 million passengers will fly
during the 2012 Thanksgiving holiday season on planes that are
expected to be full, as carriers continue
to more closely match available seats to demand in an effort to
offset what are expected to be record annual fuel costs
The
nation’s airlines expect the number of
passengers traveling from Friday, Nov. 16 through Tuesday, Nov. 27 to
increase by about 150,000 people, slightly higher than last year, but
10 percent below the peak travel years of 2006-2007. Planes are
expected to be close to 90 percent full on the busiest traveling
days, which are expected to be Sunday, Nov. 25 (2.4 million
passengers), Wednesday, Nov. 21 (2.3 million passengers) and Monday,
Nov. 26 (2.3 million passengers).
During
the busy holiday travel season, passengers are encouraged to check
their carrier’s website for flight
status and check in electronically before arriving at
the airport, register with their carrier for electronic flight
updates and allow adequate time
for security screening and checking bags.
A4A also encourages passengers to check
http://airlines.org/Pages/Passenger-Travel-Tips.aspx for additional
travel tips.
A4A
also provided key financial performance data of the U.S. airlines for
the first nine months of the year. Despite a 5.6 percent increase in
revenues, airlines have had to contend with 6.2 percent
higher costs, reducing profits to a margin of 0.2 percent – or
roughly 50 cents per passenger -- for the 10 largest U.S. carriers.
A key factor in higher costs has been the price of
jet fuel averaging $3.08 per gallon, outpacing the 2011 record high
of $3 per gallon.
“Despite
razor-thin profits, airlines have consistently demonstrated
when they are even marginally profitable they add jobs, said A4A Vice
President and Chief Economist John Heimlich. “Improved
airline balance
sheets have
translated into 21 consecutive months of job growth
and enabled the carriers to reinvest in equipment, which
will help boost efficiency and enhance the customer experience.”
Heimlich
said that air
travel remains
an excellent value. While domestic airfare has risen about 4 percent
year to date, it has not kept pace with inflation, and in real
dollars it costs 16 percent less to fly today than it did in 2000.
