New reports from the Air Transport Association of America, which is the industry’s trade organization for leading United States airlines, show that passenger revenue fell by 19 percent in September of 2009 when compared to 2008. These figures were based on a sample group of carriers. Either way, this now marks the 11^th consecutive month in which passenger revenue has decline from the prior year.

Overall, just 2 percent fewer passengers traveled on United States airlines in September. This is in contrast to the 5 percent decline that was seen in August. The average price that it costs to fly one mile fell by 18 percent, which is slightly more than the 17 percent that was seen in August when compared to last year. Passenger revenue decline was not just limited to domestic United States flights, but it extended to transatlantic, transpacific and Latin markets as well.

The Air Transport Association of America President and CEO, James C. May, said that the demand for air travel remains very weak. This is evident by the untenable pricing environment. He went on to say that while other sectors may be seeing some kind of signs that the economy is getting back on track, the airline industry remains in a very hard spot.

Another thing that is reflecting a very weak global economy is the continued decline in cargo traffic. United States airlines saw cargo revenue decline by 12 percent year over year. Overall, the airline market is still caught between a rock and a hard spot. It could take quite some time for the industry to get back on its feet, but some experts are saying that it will never fully recover to what it was before the recession.