December airline yields were down 1.9%




NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The decline in U.S. airline yields slowed further in December, culminating in the smallest year-over-year decline for the 2009, the Air Transport Association said Tuesday. Yields, or the average price a passenger pays to fly one mile, declined 1.9% in December, compared to a 4.6% decline in November. The erosion in yields peaked in June with a nearly 19% drop as business travel dried up in the wake of the recession, causing operators to slash ticket prices to attract more budget-conscious vacationers. The industry is widely projected to recover in 2010 as business people trickle back. For all of 2009, yields came in 11.8% below those in 2008.