Fliers packed planes in July

— -- U.S. air travelers faced some of the most crowded jetliners ever in July as at least seven major carriers reported record percentages of filled seats.

American AMR, Continental CAL, Delta DAL, US Airways LCC, AirTran AAI and Alaska Airlines ALK announced their most crowded planes for any month, with nearly 90% of all seats full on domestic flights.

Southwest LUV reported a record for July, historically one of any year's busiest travel months. And Northwest was up slightly from July 2006, with more than 88% of seats filled.

The packed planes represent welcome economic news for airlines coping with high fuel costs and other expenses. Jim Whitehurst, Delta's chief operating officer, said his airline expects continued "solid demand moving forward."

But for travelers, the crowding makes an empty adjacent seat a disappearing luxury and complicates rebooking if a flight is canceled.

"It's probably going to be perceived as the worst month ever" for passengers, says Robert Mann, president of R.W. Mann & Co., a New York-based airline industry consulting firm.

It's no longer a question of booking on the next flight, Mann says. "It's a question of how many hours — or how many days — it will take until you can get on the next flight."

Ines Lormand, a senior curriculum specialist for McGraw-Hill's Wright Group, an educational publishing unit, says her business travel this summer, mostly on Continental, has featured "nothing but full planes."

July storms around George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, her home base, canceled two of Lormand's flights. Her Continental platinum membership enabled her to get rebooked on the next flight each time. Still, the crowding is taking a toll on even some of the airlines' most reliable customers.

Ken Coker, owner of an automotive consulting business in Norman, Okla., is a Delta frequent flier whose platinum privileges enable him to change flights within three hours of departure at no cost. But this summer he's found it difficult to get on alternate flights. After finishing a business meeting ahead of schedule on Thursday in Milwaukee, Coker decided to fly home early. But there were no available seats. "So I got home considerably later than I had hoped," he says.

Summer vacationers and other pleasure travelers likely face even more inconvenience if flight cancellations force them to reschedule trips.

"The super-elite travelers tend to get handled a little more with kid gloves," Mann says. "That's not typically the case for the infrequent flier who paid a low fare."