Domestic U.S. airline passenger yield in December declined by 1.9 percent

year over year to 14.11 cents per mile, the smallest monthly decline since December 2008, according to the Air Transport Association. Defined as the "average price someone pays to fly one mile excluding government taxes and fees," domestic yield has now declined for 14 consecutive months. For full-year 2009, domestic yield was down 11.8 percent year over year, the largest decline in at least a decade. For December, ATA also reported a 4 percent decline in total U.S. airline passenger revenue and a 3 percent drop in passenger count. "Declines appear to be bottoming out," according to ATA president James May. "Anecdotal evidence suggests a positive revenue trajectory in 2010."