ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, June 6, 1996 TAG: 9606060063
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: ATLANTA
SOURCE: Associated Press
ValuJet's traffic dropped by 7.4 percent last month because passengers stayed away from the carrier after the plane crash in the Florida Everglades.
The airline, which cut its schedule in half a week after the May 11 crash, had its credit rating downgraded Wednesday by Standard & Poors. The rating service lowered its corporate credit rating of ValuJet Inc., the airline's parent company, to double-B-minus from double-B. The drop reflects the adverse impact on the company's finances after the crash and uncertainty about its return to a full flight schedule.
The airline reported carrying 378,652 passengers in May, compared with 409,130 a year earlier. ValuJet's planes were only about half full, compared with planes that were nearly three-quarters full last year, the Atlanta-based airline said.
ValuJet also reported a 6 percent drop in revenue passenger miles, a key measurement, from 203.2million in May 1995 to 190.9million in May 1996. A revenue passenger mile is one paying passenger flying one mile.
The numbers ``were a little better than I thought they were going to be after having a cloud over their heads for two-thirds of the month,'' said Ray Neidl, an analyst with Furman Selz of New York.
LENGTH: Short : 34 linesby CNB