WASHINGTON - US AIRLINES will see fewer travellers over the holiday season but will squeeze them into a reduced number of seats, an industry group said on Thursday.

The Air Transport Association of America is forecasting a nine per cent year-over-year decrease in the number of passengers who will travel globally on US airlines during the 21-day holiday season from December 18 to January 7.

But the number of available seats has also declined nine percent from the same period a year ago, resulting in full or near-full flights throughout the holiday period.

ATA president James May said, 'The decline is driven primarily by an extremely fragile economy and falling global demand for travel'.

Mr May said US airlines will carry some two million passengers per day over the 21-day period, with the busiest days expected to be December 19 and December 27.

On these days, ATA estimates that planes will average 90 percent full.

'All signs suggest that the schedule cuts prompted by high fuel prices in 2008 will deepen in 2009, primarily due to the rapidly deteriorating economic environment and the volatility of the industry's cost of operations,' said ATA chief economist John Heimlich. -- AFP