=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SF Gate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/news/archive/2002/02/21/n= ational1635EST0737.DTL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday, February 21, 2002 (AP) Air travel remains below pre-Sept. 11 levels (02-21) 13:35 PST WASHINGTON (AP) -- The fallout from the terrorist attacks continues to rain on the aviation industry. The major airlines carried 6 million fewer passengers last month than they did during the same period a year ago. The 14.2 percent drop in passengers equaled the percentage loss in December over the same month a year earlier. But it was less than the decline in October and November. "Thanks largely to continued fare sales and restored passenger confidence in air travel, we see a steady upward movement in passenger traffic," said David Swierenga, chief economist for the Air Transport Association, the trade group for the major airlines. The airlines carried 37.4 million passengers in January 2001, compared with 43.6 million a year earlier. Airplanes flew fuller last month than they did in January 2000, with 63.2 percent of their seats filled, compared with 62.6 percent. Hundreds of flights were eliminated as airlines cut service following Sept. 11. Last year, the major airlines carried 547.7 million passengers, a decline of 7.7 percent over the 593.4 million who flew in 2000. That is only the second yearly decline since World War II, according to the ATA. The only other drop came in 1991, following the Persian Gulf War and during the nation's last recession. On the Net: Air Transport Association: www.airlines.org =20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2002 AP