Alaska Air traffic falls 2 percent in June

Alaska Airlines traffic fell to 1.69 billion revenue passenger miles from 1.72 billion in June 2007. A revenue passenger mile is a unit measuring one paying passenger flown one mile.

Capacity inched up 0.2 percent to 2.12 billion available seat miles in June, compared with 2.12 billion a year earlier.

The load factor, or the percentage of available seats occupied by fare-paying passengers, fell to 79.5 percent from 81.3 percent in June 2007. Higher airline ticket prices are squeezing already cash-strapped customers, who are opting more often to vacation within driving distance to their homes.

For the first six months of this year, traffic rose 5.8 percent to 9.4 billion revenue passenger miles. Capacity grew by 4.1 percent to 12.32 billion available seat miles, compared with the same period in 2007.

The passenger load factor rose to 76.3 percent, from 75.1 percent in 2007.

Traffic at the company's Horizon Air unit fell 4.2 percent in June to 248.5 million revenue passenger miles, as capacity fell 2.2 percent to 318.7 million available seat miles. Occupancy slipped to 78 percent from 79.6 percent a year earlier.

So far this year, traffic has slipped 0.4 percent to 1.35 billion revenue passenger miles, while capacity has fallen 0.6 percent to 1.886 billion available seat miles.

Occupancy has edged higher to 71.7 percent, from 71.5 percent in the first half of 2007.