U.S. air carriers, which sold few first-class and business class tickets this past winter, may now be seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.

Initial reports from major U.S. airlines regarding April passenger traffic indicate that steep fare discounting is filling coach seats, partially offsetting the stagnant sale of business and first-class tickets.

Continental Airlines, the first carrier to report April 2009 traffic, says April was the best month so far this year. Last month, the nation’s fifth-largest air carrier, flew 7.6 billion consolidated (mainline plus regional) revenue passenger miles (RPMs), resulting in a consolidated traffic decrease of 3.4 percent as compared to April 2008. In comparison, March’s drop was 9.7 percent year over year.

Others saw improvements, too: American Airlines says traffic was down 4.7% in April compared with April last year, less than the March falloff of 10.9% year over year. AirTran says its traffic fell only 0.3% this past April versus April 2008, March traffic was down 7.2% year over year. And AirTran filled 80.4 percent of its seats last month, as compared to 73.9 percent in April 2008.

US Airways said mainline RPMs for the month of April were 5.0 billion, down 3.0 percent from April 2008. But the passenger load factor for the month was a record 84.8 percent, up 1.6 points versus April 2008. US Airways President Scott Kirby said the April traffic results reflected the Easter holiday shift from March in 2008 to April in 2009.

On the other hand, United Airlines reported an April consolidated passenger load factor of 79.9 percent. Total consolidated RPMs decreased in April by 8.7 percent on a consolidated capacity decrease of 8.7 percent in available seat miles (ASMs) compared with the same period in 2008.

For the world as a whole, airline load factors dropped as passenger demand fell in March, the latest monthly tabulation from by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

March data for scheduled international air traffic showed that passenger demand fell to 11.1 percent below March 2008 levels. Airlines cut international passenger capacity by 4.4 percent resulting in an average load factor of 72.1 percent. This is 5.4 percentage points below the average load factor recorded in March 2008.

“The global economic crisis continues to reduce demand for international air travel,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s director general and CEO. IATA estimates that international revenues in March declined up to 20%. “Airlines cannot adjust capacity to match demand. Load factors have dipped sharply from last year. All of this is hitting revenues hard,” said Bisignani.

IATA noted that:

• The shift in Easter from March in 2008 to April in 2009 negatively distorted March 2009 passenger demand by about two percent, leading to an underlying fall in March demand of nine percent. This shows a continued decline from February of about one percent.
• Among the major regions, carriers in Asia Pacific continued to lead the decline with a 14.5 percent fall in passenger demand, outstripping a 9.3 percent downward adjustment in capacity. The region is particularly impacted by the falloff in long-haul travel, which is contracting faster than short-haul.
• North American carriers saw a decline in international passenger demand of 13.4 percent as travel was further discouraged by U.S. unemployment reaching 8.5 percent in March and consumer confidence remaining weak.
• European carriers saw their international demand fall by 11.6 percent where confidence has been dented by rising unemployment in key markets such as Germany and Spain.
• African carriers showed the weakest performance in March with a 15.6 percent fall in demand. But they did the best job at matching capacity to demand with an aggressive cut of 15.1 percent.
• Latin American carriers increased capacity by 2.2 percent as demand fell by 5.9 percent. Travel to and from Central America and from Latin America to North America was particularly weak.
• Middle Eastern carriers were the only ones to experience growth in March (4.7 percent). This is an improvement from the 0.4 percent growth in February, and represents an expansion of market share. But this was out of balance with the 13.1 percent increase in capacity.

Rising concerns over Swine Influenza could have a significant impact on traffic. Bisignani said “it is still too early to judge what the impact of Swine Flu will have on the bottom line. But it is sure that anything that shakes the confidence of passengers has a negative impact on the business. And the timing could not be worse given all of the other economic problems airlines are facing.”

Aside from Swine Influenza, Bisignani noted that airlines face many challenges. “Like the rest of the economy, recovery in the air transport sector rests on a rise in consumer confidence and consumer spending.”

2008 traffic data for U.S. and foreign carriers serving the United States is also sobering.

Passengers on U.S. airlines and on flights to and from the United States on foreign airlines declined last year by 3.5 percent from 2007, dropping to 809 million, says the Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

BTS, in releasing preliminary data, reported that U.S. airlines carried 3.7 percent fewer total system passengers in 2008 than in 2007. U.S. airlines carried 4.3 percent fewer domestic passengers in 2008, but 1.2 percent more international passengers than in 2007. Passengers to and from the United States on foreign carriers decreased 1.5 percent from 2007.

Total passengers on U.S. airlines and on foreign airlines to and from the United States declined in each of the last nine months of 2008 from the same month in 2007. The largest decline of 12.8 percent took place in November.

Southwest Airlines carried more passengers (101.9 million) in 2008 than any other U.S. airline for the second consecutive year. American Airlines carried more international passengers (21.2 million) to and from the United States in 2008 than any other U.S. or foreign carrier for the 19th consecutive year.

More passengers boarded planes in 2008 at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International (43.6 million) than at any other U.S. airport; and more international passengers (10.6 million) boarded planes at New York’s Kennedy International than at any other U.S. airport.

For those who keep count:
.
• U.S. carriers and foreign carriers serving the United States operated 10.7 million domestic and international flights in 2008, 4.8 percent fewer than were operated in 2007.

• Revenue passenger-miles, a measure of the number of passengers and the distance flown, were down 2.1 percent in 2008.

• Available seat-miles, a measure of airline capacity using the number of seats and the distance flown, were down 1.0 percent in 2008.

• Passenger load factor, passenger miles as a proportion of available seat-miles, was down 0.9 load factor points at 78.7 percent in 2008.

• U.S. airlines and foreign airlines carried 159.1 million scheduled international passengers in 2008, unchanged from 2007. The passengers were carried on 1.34 million flights, down 1.5 percent from the 1.36 million flights operated in 2007.

• U.S. airlines carried 57.5 percent of the international passengers in 2008, up from 56.9 percent in 2007.

Overnight News
Airbus Cuts A380 Delivery Target Again

Turkish Air Orders Five Boeing 777-300ERs

TAM Says Well Placed For Downturn

Southwest’s CEO struggles to sell no-growth plan

EU, Canada sign deal to open aviation markets

EasyJet Expects To Be Profitable In Full Year

EU-Canada Summit to launch negotiations for a new economic and free trade agreement

Allegiant holders price 2.3-mln-share offer at $50

Nigeria: President Yar' Adua Takes Economy Re-Engineering to Aviation

WestJet lands a piece of the downturn

Air Azul in US to get new name, new planes

Emirates expects no delays in plane deliveries

Blind pilot's flight 'brilliant

Cabin crew strike to go ahead tomorrow, Air NZ services as usual

Air Canada Executive First now on sale

Birds, engines, airplanes and Sullenberger -- another look at the Hudson River splashdown

Etihad Airways unveils new first class cabin suite

United Airlines wants to know everything about me….and I mean everything

Jet Airways, Air India sign deals with foreign carriers

EasyJet proposes in-flight marriages

Delta to eliminate curbside check-in at small airports, tweak elite status

Fitch: Increased Credit Risks for Brazilian Airlines as Demand Softens

UK Carbon Tax: Developing World Paying for Green of Europe’s Richest