Nielsen//NetRatings, the global standard in Internet audience measurement and analysis, reports that traffic to the airline category jumped 15% during the week ending August 4 at work. JetBlue Airways
claimed the top spot, as the site's traffic surged 72% to 362,000 surfers, compared to 211,00 the previous week (see Table 1). Traffic to the American Airlines Web site soared 32% to more than one
million surfers, while Continental Airlines attracted 509,000 unique visitors, jumping 31%.
Rounding out the top five fastest growing airline sites, traffic to the United Airlines site grew 20% to
782,000 unique visitors, while Southwest Airlines drew more than 1.1 million surfers for the week.
In addition, daily overnight analysis from Nielsen//NetRatings shows that traffic to the Spirit
Airlines Web site at home jumped significantly on August 7, after the company announced its plans to give away 13,000 airline seats on September 11.
"As the summer travel season winds down, surfers
planning a final vacation getaway in August are shopping online for the latest bargains and deals," said Lisa Strand, director and chief analyst, Nielsen//NetRatings. "Online travel continues to be a
strong e-commerce category, despite the difficult climate this past year."
Top 5 Airline Brands, Week Ending August 4 (U.S., Work)
+--------------------------+----------------+----------------+---------+
| Brand | 7/28 Unique | 8/4 Unique | Percent |
| | Audience
(000) | Audience (000) | Growth |
+--------------------------+----------------+----------------+---------+
| 1. JetBlue Airways | 211 | 362 | 72% |
| 2.
American Airlines | 778 | 1,026 | 32% |
| 3. Continental Airlines | 388 | 509 | 31% |
| 4. United Airlines | 651 |
782 | 20% |
| 5. Southwest Airlines | 979 | 1,145 | 17% |
+--------------------------+----------------+----------------+---------+
Source:
Nielsen//NetRatings, August 2002 Additional data highlights for the week ending August 4, 2002:
* "American Idol" Attracts Surfers Online
The "American Idol" Web site drew 544,000
unique visitors at work for the week ending August 4, 2002, according to Nielsen//NetRatings. "American Idol" fans logged onto the site for the latest status on contestants and recaps of past
episodes. The site also gained 414,000 unique visitors at home, and attracted a predominantly female audience.
* Educational Resource Sites Spike in Traffic
Traffic to Dictionary.com
surged 62% to 800,000 unique visitors, with male workers comprising 78% of the audience. Merriam-Webster attracted 617,000 unique visitors, with men making up 64% of the site's audience. The site grew
40% during the week ending August 4, as compared to the previous week.