PwC Analyst: Online Travel Traffic Grows In Attack Aftermath

Traffic at online travel agencies and airline Web sites was healthy in the weeks following Sept. 11, said a representative of PricewaterhouseCooper's Internet security practice, speaking today at a travel distribution conference in Philadelphia.

According to Valyn Erickson, in the week of Sept. 11, online agencies' traffic dipped to 57 percent of their Sept. 10th levels; airlines' traffic surged to 424 percent. The following week, agencies' levels stood at 53 percent and airline site traffic settled at 120 percent. By the week of Sept. 24 to 28, agency traffic had risen to 87 percent and airlines were back at 100 percent. By the first week of October, agencies saw 104 percent of their pre-Sept. 11th traffic, and airlines saw 155 percent. These robust numbers are helping some groups such as research firm PhoCus Wright predict that, despite depressed passenger numbers, online travel actually will be bigger in September's wake. "Online travel has not taken a hit from Sept. 11th," Erickson said.