Airlines for America Predicts Record-Breaking Summer

Industry trade organization Airlines for America (A4A) announced Wednesday it expects a record 246.1 million passengers to travel on United States airlines this summer.

Between June 1 and August 31, A4A revealed an average of 2.68 million travelers per day will take to the skies, an increase of 3.7 percent from last year's record 237.3 million passengers.

To deal with the expected rise in air traffic, carriers are adding 116,000 seats per day to accommodate the 96,000 additional daily passengers. The positive outlook also comes after a strong first quarter of 2018.

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The airline industry saw a drop in customer complaints, the lowest-ever rate of involuntarily denied boardings, improved on-time arrival rates and slight dips in flight completion and properly handled bag rates.

“As the economy grows along with household net worth, passengers are taking advantage of persistently low airfares for their summer travel plans,” A4A vice president John Heimlich said in a statement. “This fall we will celebrate 40 years since the passage of the Airline Deregulation Act, which has enabled business and leisure travelers alike to reap the benefits of the nation's safest form of transportation, while enjoying historically low airfares, increased in-flight amenities and modern technology throughout the flight experience, from the time of booking all the way through arrival at their destination.”

While the airline industry is currently thriving, the rising cost of fuel and labor have caused revenue to be outpaced by expenses, resulting in a decline in profitability. Despite the financial issues, airfare remains lower due to competition between carriers.

Leisure travelers continue to rank affordability at the top of their priority list, followed by flight schedule, on-time reliability and seat comfort. The reasonable ticket prices have led to more than three million daily seats departing from U.S. airports, up 3.3 percent year over year.