US Airways traffic dipped 0.1 percent in March on lower capacity, rivals saw stronger traffic

US Airways traffic dipped 0.1 percent in March

TEMPE, Ariz. — US Airways Group Inc. said Monday that its March traffic dipped 0.1 percent from a year earlier, but another important measure — per-passenger revenue — rose sharply, a sign the airline industry is recovering from a deep slump.

The airline said its passenger revenue per available seat mile — one seat flown one mile — rose about 18 percent from March 2009, including regional flights.

Continental Airlines said last week that its passenger unit revenue in March rose about 15 percent. Both airlines, along with American and AirTran, also reported gains in traffic compared with a year ago.

US Airways said paying passengers flew 5.08 billion miles last month, down from 5.09 billion miles in March 2009.

Capacity fell 1.8 percent, to 6.15 billion available seat miles. Airlines reduce capacity by operating fewer flights or using smaller planes.

Flights were more full. Average occupancy rose to 82.6 percent in March, up from 81.3 percent a year ago.

The figures included both the mainline US Airways brand and its regional operations, US Airways Express.

Scott Kirby, the company president, said US Airways was also seeing strong growth in revenue per mile based on prices customers pay.

After being battered the past two years by high fuel prices and a recession that hurt travel, airlines hope to return to profitability this year.

For the full first quarter, US Airways said traffic fell 2 percent, to 13.51 billion miles flown by paying customers. Capacity was cut a slightly larger 2.6 percent, boosting average occupancy to 78.2 percent from 77.7 percent a year earlier.

US Airways shares fell 27 cents, or 3.7 percent, to close at $7.13.