For the month of December, US Airways Group Inc. reported a drop in traffic, while AirTran, the budget carrier, on the other hand, reported a continuation in growth.

AMR Corp's American Airlines too reported a decline in traveller numbers; however, unlike the aforementioned two operators, it did manage to fly fuller planes during the past month.

As the airlines sector has started to move towards recovery, low-cost carriers have been the first ones to benefit, with value seeking customers more willing to get on planes which do not charge too much. The business class tickets, which are the most lucrative ones, still have to take-off and most airlines rely on these tickets the most.

A 3.6% drop in traffic was posted by US Airways for December, while load factor slipped 79.3%, inspite of a 2.4% decrease in capacity.

AirTran, on the other hand, recorded a 5.3% growth in traffic, with an 8.2% hike in capacity which led to a decline in load factor to 77.7%/

Passenger traffic for American Airlines fell by 1.6%.