The U.S. regional airline industry in general continued to see increases in traffic and capacity in September, compared to the same month last year, but higher fuel prices led to decreases in yield for some carriers.

American Eagle Airlines' system-wide traffic increased 19.1 percent in September from the same month last year, on a capacity increase of 14.3 percent. System load factor, or the percentage of the plane filled with revenue-paying passengers, was 60.1 percent, up 2.4 points year-over-year. American Eagle, the largest regional airline, boarded 1.1 million passengers in September, up 6.8 percent from September 2002.

Atlantic Coast Airlines [Nasdaq: ACAI] generated 273.6 million revenue passenger miles (RPMs) in September, a 17.1 percent increase in traffic over the same month last year, while available seat miles (ASMs), or capacity, rose to 396.6 million, an 8.9 percent increase. Load factor was 69 percent versus 64.1 percent in September 2002. For the month, the airline carried 680,258 passengers, a 13.7 percent increase over the same month last year.

ExpressJet [NYSE: XJT] also said it experienced increased traffic and capacity in September for its Continental Express operating fleet. During the month, ExpressJet flew 483.3 million RPMs, up 57 percent compared to September 2002, and 50,549 block hours, compared with 38,399 block hours in September 2002. Capacity increased 42.2 percent to 722.9 million ASMs in September 2003, compared to the year before. ExpressJet's load factor increased to 66.9 percent last month -- a record September load factor -- and a 6.4 point improvement over September 2002.

Also in September, ExpressJet accomplished a 99.9 percent controllable completion factor, excluding cancellations due to weather and air traffic control, and a total completion factor of 97.7 percent, the company said.

During the month, ExpressJet accepted delivery of two Embraer [NYSE: ERJ] ERJ 145XR (extended range) aircraft, bringing the company's total operating fleet to 218 jets. In addition, ExpressJet said it will add Continental Express service from New York to Huntsville, Ala., and Tulsa, Okla., on Nov. 1, and from Houston to Ciudad del Carmen, Mexico, on Dec. 17, subject to government approval.

Mesa Air Group [Nasdaq: MESA] said its RPMs increased 55.7 percent in September, to 257.3 million, compared to 165.3 million in September 2002. Total ASMs increased 39.7 percent last month, to 424.6 million, from 303.9 million in September 2002. The number of passengers Mesa carried increased 45.3 percent, to 587,713, from 404,461 a year ago. Load factor increased to 60.6 percent, compared to 54.4 percent in September 2002, an increase of 6.2 points.

"Our regional jet expansion continues to move forward with the addition of six jet aircraft in September, the largest single monthly addition in our company's history," said Jonathan Ornstein, Mesa's chairman and CEO. "Through the course of the month Mesa added one 80 seat, two 64 seat, and three 50 seat regional jets. This would not have been possible without the more efficient training scheduling afforded by our new pilot agreement and the implementation of a 'Jets for Jobs' program" with United Airlines [OTC: UALAQ] and US Airways [OTC: USALA].

"We remain confident that our business plan, based upon revenue-guarantee code-share agreements with major airlines, will provide significant additional growth going forward and a firm platform of profitability upon which to build our future," Ornstein added. "It is also our view that the hub network strategy utilized by our airline partners will, in the long term, prove to be successful once adequate cost restructuring efforts currently under way are fully implemented."

Mesaba Aviation, a subsidiary of MAIR Holdings, Inc. [Nasdaq: MAIR], flew 262.5 million ASMs in September, up 10.7 percent year-over-year. Mesaba Aviation carried 460,018 passengers in the month, which was up 1.5 percent from the previous year, and generated 161.3 million RPMs. Passenger load factor, increased 6 points year-over-year to 61.4 percent.

Midwest Express Holdings [NYSE: MEH] reported an increase in traffic, decrease in capacity, increase in load factor and decrease in yield for its Midwest Connect operation.

In September, Midwest Connect's traffic increased 0.2 percent on an 11.6 percent decrease in capacity. Midwest Connect expects to decrease capacity by 15 percent to 17 percent in the fourth quarter compared with fourth quarter 2002. Load factor for the month was 54 percent, compared with 47.6 percent in September 2002.

Revenue yield declined 2.5 percent from September 2002, and revenue per scheduled service ASM increased 13 percent in September, the result of higher load factor offsetting lower revenue yield.

A factor in the lower yield was fuel prices, which were 1.8 percent higher in September than a year ago, and 22.3 percent higher in the first nine months of 2003 than 2002, the carrier noted.

Skyway Airlines, Midwest Express' wholly owned subsidiary, operates Midwest Connect, which offers connections to Midwest Airlines as well as point-to-point service between select markets on regional jet and turboprop aircraft.

The three wholly owned regional subsidiaries of US Airways -- Allegheny Airlines, Piedmont Airlines, and PSA -- reported a 19.1 percent decrease in RPMs for the month of September on 20.3 percent less capacity. The passenger load factor was 49.3 percent, a 0.7 percentage point increase compared to September 2002.

For the third quarter 2003, the three US Airways Express carriers reported that RPMs decreased 16 percent on 16.5 percent less capacity. The load factor was 53.4 percent, a 0.3 percentage point increase compared to the third quarter of 2002.

Year-to-date 2003, Allegheny, Piedmont and PSA reported a 16.3 percent decrease in revenue passenger miles on 15.6 percent less capacity. The passenger load factor was 52.3 percent, a 0.4 percentage point decrease compared to the first nine months of 2002.

Air Wisconsin Airlines, operating as United Express and AirTran JetConnect, reported it enplaned 1 million more passengers in September than it had at the same time last year. The carrier, which operates a fleet of 17 BAe-146 jets and 55 Canadair regional jets, feeds United in Chicago, Denver and at Washington's Dulles Airport flying as United Express, and feeds AirTran Airways [NYSE: AAI] at its Atlanta hub flying as AirTran JetConnect.