Power Breakfast: Summer travel rising at Hartsfield-Jackson, metro unemployment drops, HOPE, AT&T, pensions

Fliers using the Atlanta airport this summer can expect bigger crowds and higher fares, AJC reporter Kelly Yamanouchi writes.

Memorial Day weekend marks the start of the high season for flying, and Hartsfield-Jackson expects 1.6 million travelers in the next six days, Yamanouchi reports. That’s up about 5 percent from last year.

The Air Transport Association forecasts 1.5 percent traffic growth nationally this summer, Yamanouchi writes.

“We’re preparing for a very busy travel season,” Hartsfield general manager Louis Miller told Yamanouchi. He said he hopes passenger traffiic at the airport for the full year will be up 3 percent to 5 percent. Last year, 89.3 million passengers used Hartsfield-Jackson, slightly off the record of 90 million passengers in 2008.

A 3 percent increase this year would set a new record for Hartsfield-Jackson, the world’s busiest airport, Yamanouchi writes.

Also in the AJC:

• Metro Atlanta’s jobless rate drops to 9.7 percent in April
• Oil prices and housing slow metro rebound
• Group seeks to boost HOPE revenue through video lottery terminals
• Atlanta mayor increases pressure on pension reform
• Henry County favors roads over rail
• AT&T announces faster wireless for Atlanta and four other cities

In other media:

• Sticker shock at $1 trillion jet-fighter fleet
• Banks offer cash transfers to cell numbers, emails
• World stocks rebound following Wall Street rally

- Henry Unger, The Biz Beat

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