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Boost in Labor Day travel expected to make summer busiest ever for airlines

Bart Jansen
USA TODAY
A United Airlines plane takes off July 25, 2013, from Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.

Airlines project 14.2 million passengers will fly over the Labor Day holiday, a 3% increase from last year that could break records for summer travel.

An expected 2 million daily passengers from Wednesday Sept. 2 through Tuesday Sept. 8 will mark an increase of about 59,000 passengers per day from the comparable holiday period last year, according to the industry group Airlines for America.

The announcement on Tuesday followed a projection in May that this would be the busiest summer in the history of U.S. air travel. The industry estimated 222 million travelers would fly from June 1 through Aug. 31 – higher than the previous peak of 217 million travelers in 2007.

To accommodate the additional passengers and meet demand, airlines boosted their schedules with more flights and larger planes, the group said.

With more availability and cheaper flights, "air travel continues to be more accessible and a bargain for cost-conscience consumers," John Heimlich, the group's chief economist, said.

As airlines continue to rebound from the economic collapse in 2008, the 10 publicly-held airlines reported a collective profit of $8.7 billion during the first half of the year – more than doubled the $3.9 billion during the same period in 2014. Airlines attributed the improved profitability almost entirely to lower fuel costs, which fell 34%.

Operating revenues for airlines remained relatively flat, as a 3% decline in fares offset a 3% increase in passengers.

Airline seating capacity slightly outpaced passengers during the first half of the year, with planes flying 82.8% full, compared to 83.2% full a year earlier.

The airline reports of greater profitability came the same month as the Transportation Department reported that passenger complaints were up 20% during the first half of the year. Flight disruptions and baggage problems led the complaints that rose to 9,542, from 7,935 a year earlier.

But the 10 airlines collectively invested $8.5 billion during the first half of the year to improve the customer experience, according to the trade group. Airlines bought and refurbished planes at a rate of nearly one per day, while also adding 7,300 employees to their payrolls during the first five months of the year.

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