United Air Traffic Drops 13% in March

UAL Corp.’s United Airlines said passenger traffic fell 13% in March as air travel declined and the carrier reduced service. Southwest Airlines Co.’s traffic rose 1% on spring travel demand.

United’s traffic, the number of miles flown by paying passengers, slid as the world’s second-biggest carrier reduced capacity 18%.

Southwest’s planes were 70.2% full last month, down from 72.3% in March 2001, and the largest low-fare carrier’s capacity, or miles that available plane seats are flown, rose 4%, the airline said.

United, Southwest and other U.S. airlines have lowered ticket prices to try to win back passengers after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks deepened a slump in business travel.

Shares of Dallas-based Southwest rose 12 cents to $18.44 on the NYSE. Chicago-based UAL rose 14 cents to $14.95 , also on the NYSE.

Bloomberg News