There was optimism expressed Monday by US Airways President Scott Kirby. Kirby said in an interview that demand and airfares seem to be stabilizing after sharp drops in January and early February.
According to Kirby, the dip in new booking revenue that US Airways saw in January and the first half of February has stopped, and in March has even risen a little. He said travel plans for the Easter holiday explain some of the improvement, but not all. Kirby also said the overall number of leisure passengers has held up - it's just that they're paying less to fly than they used to.
Kirby added while international flights were thinned, no cities had service cut completely. "We didn't pull out of any markets," Kirby said, before thoughtfully adding, "We are evaluating the September-and-beyond period."
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports Kirby told analysts that in February, revenues for booked flights began to "stabilize" at levels below 2008's fourth quarter, and have been up in March. "We are moderately encouraged for April and beyond," Kirby said.
