US airlines maintain capacity caution; positive influence on yields, load factors and profitability
US airlines, including Delta, United Continental and Southwest, plan to maintain their capacity discipline in 4Q2011 and FY2012, after seeing the benefits that tight supply can bring in terms of profitability, yields and load factors - especially amid a deteriorating economic environment.
Capacity growth among the major US airlines in Aug-2011, a peak summer travel month, was generally limited to single-digits – the exception being the smaller Spirit Airlines – with all of the major network carriers reducing capacity in the month.
