CLT airport traffic increases 5%, flight departs every two minutes | News

CHARLOTTE, NC (Amy Shapiro/Charlotte Business Journal)- Charlotte Douglas International Airport reports 1.7 million passengers boarded planes in April, up 5 percent from April 2011.

The number of daily flights increased to 717 from 703.

The tons of cargo loaded at the airport decreased 14% percent.

US Airways Group Inc. is the largest carrier at the airport. In April, the Tempe, Ariz.-based airline's passenger-load factor, or percentage of filled seats, was 83 percent, up less than 1 percent from the previous year. The airline reports 5 billion mainline revenue passenger miles in April, up 2.1 percent from April 2011.

US Airways recently reported net income of $48 million, or 28 cents per diluted share, in the first quarter, up from a loss of $114 million, or 72 cents per diluted share, in 2011's first quarter.

As previously reported, airline industry economist Daniel Akins says a merger between US Airways and American Airlines   is inevitable. This weekend, Doug Parker, US Airways' chief executive, told theFort Worth Star-Telegram if his airline merges with American Airlines, the combined companies would be based in Fort Worth, Texas, and be known as American Airlines.

Tempe, Ariz.-based US Airways (NYSE:LCC) operates 3,100 daily flights to 200 destinations in the Americas, Europe and Middle East.

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