December Traffic Looks Better Than November

(MoneyWatch)  There were some pretty ugly traffic numbers in November, but December is shaping up better so far. Year-over-year load factors have been up for all airlines reporting to date, with AirTran reporting a stunning 7.1 point increase to end at 79.8 percent. As usual, I'll have a full rundown later on, but first, let's dig in to the always informative Continental results.

Continental's information is excellent because it gives RASM estimates in addition to just traffic. December is looking stronger than November with a RASM increase between 3.5 and 4.5 percent with regional operations dragging it down from the 4 to 5 percent range.

You might remember that November RASM was predicted to be in the 1 to 2 percent growth range, down from an earlier estimated increase of 4 to 6 percent. Well, the actual number has come in on the lower side of even that reduced estimate. Continental is saying that November was up only 1.2 percent.

So was November simply a bad month? It's possible, though a later Thanksgiving this year could have given a bit of of a bump to December numbers. Still, it's a good sign that the significant reduction in capacity is working.