US Airlines Expect Drop In Summer Travel

US airlines expect a 7 percent fall in travel this summer as the global recession hurts demand, an industry group said Friday.

The Air Transport Association of America (ATA) expects 195 million passengers to fly on US airlines between June 1 and August 31, down from 209 million during summer 2008.

"The weak economy has forced additional aircraft out of the marketplace, so despite fewer travellers, planes will remain near full," ATA President and CEO James May said in a statement.

Airlines have been hard hit as the weak economy caused consumers and businesses to curtail spending on travel. Many airlines have cut their seat capacity.

This month, all but two of the nine-largest US carriers posted traffic declines for the month of April. Load factors rose for seven of the nine, aided by the capacity cuts.

Shares of many US airlines rose in trading on Friday. The Amex airline index was up 2.5 percent.