Why is LAX traffic going down?

Good question. This was supposed to be the summer from hell, what with packed planes, a closed runway and no dropoff in flights. But traffic counts for July - the latest month available - show a 1.3 percent drop in overall traffic from a year earlier. International activity is down 4.2 percent, while domestic passenger totals are flat. LAX's passenger numbers have been flat to down all year (with the exception of April). Ontario International's July traffic was down 5.3 percent and John Wayne was down 2.5 percent. No word about Burbank's July numbers (they've been steadily rising in recent months), or Long Beach. Part of LAX's decline is probably due to more passengers choosing Burbank, while the international numbers might have been impacted by the difficulty getting visas, according to Jack Kyser, chief economist at the L.A. County Economic Development Corp.

Here are the market shares for airlines coming into LAX (January-July 20)

1)United - 16.2%
2)American - 15.05%
3)Southwest - 12.7%
4)Delta - 7%
5)Alaska - 4.9%
6)Sky West - 4.4%
7)Northwest - 3.73%
8)Continental - 3.70%
9)America West - 2.5%
10)Mexicana - 2.2%