EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

AIRLINE travel in Los Angeles County recovered in 21304 after two depressed years following the Sept. 11 attacks. Southwest Airlines remained the most active local carrier, with 10.7 million passengers, followed by No. 2 United Airlines, which flew 10.4 million passengers through L.A. County airports.

No. 3 American Airlines increased its passenger count to 9.3 million, a 12.9 percent rise from 2003. Its parent company recorded its largest quarterly profit since 2001 last quarter, despite rising fuel costs.

America West Airlines jumped two spots to No. 7 as the Tempe, Ariz.-based airline's L.A. County passenger count rose 20.9 percent, to 2.3 million.

American Trans Air fell four spots to No. 15 on an 8.3 percent decrease in traffic. The Indianapolis-based carrier filed for bankruptcy last October.

Altogether, the 25 busiest airlines handled 60.8 million passengers in L.A. County during 2004, up 8.4 percent from 2003. Total passenger traffic at L.A. County's three commercial airports rose by 5.4 million, to 68 million trips, an 8.6 percent increase from the prior year.

THE PACESETTER

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES

FOR the second year in a row, the Dallas-based airline tops the list of the busiest carriers. The regional line flew 10.7 million passengers through L.A. County airports, up 419,107, or 3.9 percent over 2003. About two-thirds of Southwest's Southwest: Flies nonstop to 21 cities from LAX. local passengers traveled through Los Angeles International Airport, with the balance flying through Bob Hope Airport in Burbank.

Southwest honored its Los Angeles employees for the high quality of their work, based on counts of customer compliments and complaints, worker productivity and overall performance in customer service, ramp services and operations.

The low-cost carrier has recorded 32 straight profitable years, and it is the only airline to report profits in every quarter since the 2001 terrorist attacks. In the April-June period, the airline reported net income of $159 million.

Southwest Airlines began service to Los Angeles International Airport in 1982 with eight daily nonstop departures to El Paso and Phoenix. Today it flies 170 daily nonstop routes from L.A. County airports, including 117 daily nonstop departures to 21 cities from LAX with direct or connecting service to an additional 32 cities. Southwest operates 53 daily nonstop departures to five cities from Bob Hope Airport, with additional connecting service to 46 cities.

Overall, Southwest serves 60 cities in 31 states. It operates more than 3,000 flights daily and has more than 31,000 employees.

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