The number of passengers flying on U.S. airlines rose 3.4 percent in June compared with the same month last year and is up through the first half of the 2007, according to a government tally released Thursday.
The Transportation Department's Bureau of Transportation Statistics said U.S. airlines carried 69.5 million domestic and international passengers in June, compared with 67.2 million last year.
Through the first six months of 2007, the airlines carried 379.5 million passengers, a gain of 2.7 percent from the same period last year.
Domestic carrier Southwest Airlines Co. served more than 9.5 million passengers in June, the most of any airline. AMR Corp.'s American Airlines was second with nearly 8.7 million domestic and international passengers.
Delta Air Lines Inc., UAL Corp.'s United Airlines and Northwest Airlines Corp. rounded out the top five with 6.7 million, 6.2 million and 4.8 million passengers respectively.