U.S. carriers expect an increase in travel this summer

With an anticipation of a strong summer season, U.S. airlines expect to fly 2.2 million passengers per day globally. The number is just slightly higher than last year, an industry trade group said on Wednesday.

According to the Air Transport Association, carriers anticipate flying about 202 million passengers between June 1 and August 1. International travel is expected to greatly outpace domestic travel.

“We would like to see more growth, but this slight uptick in the number uptick in the number of air travelers is a positive sign for an economy and an industry recovery,” said James May, ATA’s chief executive and president.

Airlines experience the highest increase of travel during the spring and summer seasons. The estimated daily average of 2.2 million passengers is about 1 percent higher than last year and just below the record of 2.3 million flown in 2007.

With the economy slowly improving, airlines continue to struggle financially but are doing better than they were a year ago. According to a May report, jet fuel prices continue to be a drag on the bottom line with an expected increase of 20 percent in prices. In 2009 U.S. passenger and cargo airlines spent $32 billion on fuel.

Source: msnbc