Sloany
I run an aviation consulting company specialising in developing new routes. As such we have our ear very close to the ground on these issues.
Things are getting back to normal as the memory of the dreadful day last September slips further back into history. Intra European passenger loads were the first to recover followed by Trans-Atlantic traffic. In the USA by March 2002 the top performing airports were reporting the first year-on-year positive growth rates and all in all 2002 is expected to be on an even keel or slightly up on 2001 in most markets. The recovery is expected to continue in 2003.
Of course passenger numbers are only part of the story - in order to fill empty seats airlines have been forced to discount fares. This has been true across most markets. As such, average yields have fallen sharply. These should also start to recover but it is anticipated that this recovery will be much slower than that of passenger loads.