U.S. air traffic up by 8 million

Press, 27 June 1989, Page 27

U.S. air traffic up by 8 million

By

LES BLOXHAM

travel editor

Domestic and international airlines in the United States set new records last year. They carried 455 million passengers — eight million more than in 1987 — on 6.7 million flights. In spite of the record number oi flights (18,500 a day), there were only three fatal accidents involving scheduled airlines during the year. Revenue from ticket sales topped SUS6O billion, 75 per cent of which was handled by the country’s 32,000 travel agencies. To meet future demand, the airlines have committed more than SUSSO billion for hundreds of new, quieter, and more efficient aircraft.

Airline employment reached a new high in 1988 with 470,000 men and women each earning annually an average of $U544,000 ($NZ76,000). A recent survey of travellers by the Gallup Organisation showed that a record number of Americans — 130 million, or 73 per cent of the adult population — has flown, and nearly one out of three flew during the past year. The survey also found that 50 per cent of airline trips during the past year were for pleasure or personal reasons, and 50 per cent were for business. The average traveller made

just over three round trips during 1988. The average length of a domestic trip was 931 miles (1498 km and the cost per mile, USI2 cents (NZ2I cents). The average load factor was 63 per cent. International travel continued to increase sharply in 1988 with passenger miles up by 18 per cent on the previous year. The number of passengers carried

between the United States and the rest of the world increased by 15 per cent to more than 35 million — about five million more than in 1987. America’s international airlines provided 15 per cent more seating capacity in 1988, offering some 12 billion additional seat miles. The average international passenger load factor increased to 67 per cent — up from 65 per cent in 1987.