Airline traffic falls in Australia

(AAP - Airline traffic in Australia has declined for the first time since August 2002 as the economic downturn bites, new figures show.

Analysts expect cautious Australians to take short weekend road trips rather than
forking out on cross-country flights.
Department of Transport data released on Friday showed February was the first month
since 2002 when airline traffic fell.
Also, the number of domestic airline passengers dropped by 5.3 per cent in the year
to February, the figures showed.
The Australian economy contracted in late 2008 and is expected to still be in
recession.
Commonwealth Securities economist Savanth Sebastian said the decline in visitors
from Europe and the US, coupled with an economic slowdown in Australia, had hit
demand for local air travel.
"The trend is people are travelling more by car and doing short-term weekend
holidays rather than flying interstate or flying overseas," he said.
"If you're worried about job security and petrol prices have come down quite
significantly ... domestic car travel is the way."
Mr Savanth also said business travel by air was becoming less popular as firms cut
costs.