Travelers Choose Southwest

March 13, 2008— -- Despite coming under fire recently for missed inspections, Southwest Airlines carried more passengers in 2007 than any other U.S. airline.

New numbers released today by the Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics puts Southwest at the top of that list for the first time ever, surpassing American Airlines, the preferred choice for travelers for the previous five years. Southwest carried 101.9 million passengers last year.

"Southwest Airlines has been able to grow because of the customer demand for friendly service, affordable fares and a dependable operation," said Linda Rutherford, Southwest's vice president of public relations and community affairs. "The numbers show we have grown to become the biggest but we continue our focus to be the best."

Indeed, Southwest's image has been scrutinized in recent weeks. On Wednesday, the airline grounded several dozen planes as both internal and external investigators look into the airline's inspection and safety practices.

On March 7, the Federal Aviation Administration announced it was proposing the largest fine ever imposed against a passenger airline against Southwest. The FAA proposed a $10.2 million fine because, it said, the airline failed to do required safety checks on its older aircraft. Six of those planes were later found to have cracks in them.

Still, Thursday's numbers show Southwest was exceedingly popular in 2007 with travelers. American Airlines remains the U.S. airline that carries most passengers internationally.

In sum, a record 769.4 million passengers relied on U.S. carriers in 2007, according to Bureau of Transportation Statistics data, almost 25 million more passengers than in 2006. Nearly 680 million of those people flew domestically, while about 90 million flew internationally.

Brent Bowen, professor of aviation at University of Nebraska-Omaha, called the numbers, "a little surprising given the fact that the airlines have had so many problems." In light of recent travel frustrations and safety concerns, he said it could be a challenge for airlines to continue attracting customers.

"They need to maintain higher levels of quality of service performance so that the consumers consider it a high reliability industry," Bowen said.

The numbers released Thursday also reveal which airports were busiest.

Unsurprisingly, Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport was the country's busiest airport last year, as it has been for more than a decade. More than 42 million domestic and international passengers boarded planes at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson in 2007.

Passengers traveling internationally flew in and out of Miami International more than any other U.S. airport. Miami has been busiest for international travelers for 13 consecutive years.