Ebola fears not scaring away fliers, two big airlines say

American Airlines and Southwest Airlines today said they have seen no significant impact on bookings from the Ebola crisis.

American President Scott Kirby told investors and reporters that bookings fell the day after Congressional hearings on the crisis, in which some members of Congress called for a travel ban on flights from West African nations. As with other many headline events, as he calls them, the impact was short lived.

"We saw a measurable impact for, I think, one day,'' he said on the airline's third-quarter earnings conference call. "And then bookings have snapped back to normal.''

Southwest's chief financial officer, Tammy Romo, said travel demand remains "solid,'' with no noticeable impact from Ebola or economic concerns.

Southwest and American -- which now includes merger partner US Airway -- both are based in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, where a nurse who tested positive for Ebola took a Frontier Airlines flight to Cleveland a couple days before her symptoms surfaced earlier this month.

The nurse, Amber Vinson, is now Ebola-free, relatives said this week.

Dawn Gilbertson is a travel reporter at The Arizona Republic and the author of that newspaper's Now Departing blog. Her content also is occasionally featured here in Ben Mutzabaugh's Today in the Sky blog . The Republic is owned by Gannett, parent company of USA TODAY.