But airlines increase traffic loads by flying more passengers on existing routes and by opening up new routes. In the case of the GB acquisition new routes were acquired en-masse. It's as meaninful to strip out the passenger figures from GB as it is to strip out passenger figures from all the other new routes and then say 'told you so, they aren't flying many more passengers on their old routes'.
This is like a Monty Python sketch....'Well OK, apart from the traffic growth, good load factors, expanding route structure and millions of pounds of profit they aren't doing very well, are they?'.
Having said that I agree the outlook looks grim. We differ on our forecasts for the depth and duration of the grimness. GSB et associated Eyores are talking the industry into a position which it really isn't in, luckily the opinions held in this little corner of PPRuNe don't seem to actually affect the airlines' performance.
Is this the worst pilot market in decades? I think the cycle is shorter than that, WWW will remember.