Car travel sees slight boost with skies a little quieter

Americans are flying less, but they are driving more, according to the latest monthly reports.

Overall travel has been relatively flat, but the number of people taking to the skies fell slightly in July — the first time since February — while traffic climbed somewhat along the nation’s roads in June.

The difference, in part, reflects Americans’ growing desire to save money, analysts say.

Nearly 1 percent fewer people flew last month than last July, according to the Air Transport Association, following several months of modest year-over-year gains in passengers.

Meanwhile, airfares have increased steadily this year compared with last year, with prices rising 12 percent in March, 14 percent in April, 17 percent in May, and 20 percent in June.

July’s price increases were not quite as high as they were in June, but by that time leisure travelers were probably suffering from a high-price hangover, said Brian Hoyt of the travel website Orbitz.

“They were spooked by some of the higher ticket prices they saw,’’ he said.

Gasoline prices, on the other hand, have barely budged. The average price of gas in Massachusetts was $2.68 a gallon this week, according to AAA, a nickel more than this time last year. Car travel increased by just over 1 percent in June compared with last June, the latest data available from the Federal Highway Administration. Year-over-year car travel numbers have been up slightly over the last few months — 2 percent in March, 1 percent in April, and 0.1 percent in May

“Driving is a very attractive option for travelers right now because of the fact that gasoline prices have been so moderate over the past few months,’’ said AAA spokeswoman Mary Maguire. “You could do an entire vacation on a tank of gas.’’

But an increase in traffic does not necessarily mean people are choosing driving over other forms of transportation. It could reflect the fact that more 16-year-olds are getting their driver’s licenses, more older drivers are getting behind the wheel, or people are driving farther than they used to, according to the Federal Highway Administration.

Similarly, officials at the Air Transport Association cautioned against reading too much into the July passenger numbers, pointing out that the airlines have had seven consecutive months of revenue growth.

“I would need to see at least three months’ decline in a row before I say something’s amok here,’’ said chief economist John Heimlich.