August 2010 Airline Traffic Data: System Traffic Up 1.8 Percent from August 2009

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Contact BTS 53-10 Dave Smallen 202-366-5568

Friday, November 12, 2010 - The U.S. Department of Transportations Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) today reported in a release of preliminary data that U.S. airlines carried 66.2 million scheduled domestic and international passengers in August 2010. This is a 1.8 percent increase from August 2009 (Table 1). The August 2010 passenger total was 2.4 percent below that of two years ago in August 2008 (Table 2).

BTS, a part of DOTs Research and Innovative Technology Administration, also reported that U.S. airlines carried 1.4 percent more domestic passengers in August 2010 than in August 2009.  The number of international passengers on U.S. carriers in August 2010 increased 4.9 percent over August 2009 (Tables 7, 13). The August 2010 load factors of 85.3 percent systemwide, 85.1 percent domestic and 85.6 percent international were the highest recorded for any August (Tables 1, 7, 13).

Additional traffic numbers can be found on the BTS website in the Airline Industry box. Click on a link in the column on the right. For more historic numbers, see Traffic on the BTS website.

For the first eight months of 2010, the number of scheduled domestic and international passengers on U.S. airlines increased 1.2 percent from the same period in 2009 to 484.2 million (Table 2). The number of passengers declined 6.5 percent from the first eight months of 2008 to the first eight months of 2010.

U.S. airlines carried 0.6 percent more domestic passengers and 4.9 percent more international passengers in the first eight months of 2010 than during the same period in 2009 (Tables 7, 13). 

Top Airlines in August

In August, Delta Air Lines carried more total system and international passengers than any other U.S. airline (Tables 4, 16). Southwest Airlines carried the most domestic passengers (Table 10).

During the first eight months of 2010, Delta carried more total system and international passengers than any other U.S. airline (Tables 3, 15). Southwest carried the most domestic passengers (Table 9). See notes under airline ranking tables for more details on Deltas report.

Top Airports in August

In August, more total system and domestic passengers boarded planes at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International than at any other U.S. airport (Tables 6 and 12); and more international passengers boarded U.S. carriers at New York JFK than at any other U.S. airport (Table 18).

During the first eight months of 2010, more total system and domestic passengers boarded planes at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International than at any other U.S. airport (Tables 5 and 11); and more international passengers boarded U.S. carriers at Miami International than at any other U.S. airport (Table 17).

Flights Operated

In August, U.S. airlines operated 849,300 scheduled domestic and international flights, down 0.4 percent from the number of flights operated in August 2009 (Table 1). The number of domestic flights decreased 0.8 percent in August from a year earlier while international flights were up 3.9 percent (Tables 7, 13).

During the first eight months of 2010, U.S. carriers operated 6.4 million domestic and international flights, 1.5 percent fewer than were operated during the same period in 2009 (Table 1). Domestic flights decreased 1.8 percent from the previous year while international flights were up 2.3 percent (Tables 7, 13).

For other comparisons from the first eight months of 2009 to the first eight months of 2010 and from August 2009 to August 2010, see the following tables:

System (Domestic + International) (Tables 1-6)

Table 1 (August and January through August):
Revenue passenger-miles (RPMs)
Available seat-miles (ASMs)
Passenger load factor
Flight stage length
Passenger trip length

Table 2
System scheduled enplanements on U.S. airlines by month since January 2008

Airline Rankings

Table 3
January through August: Top 10 airlines by scheduled passenger enplanements

Table 4
August: Top 10 airlines by scheduled passenger enplanements

Airport Rankings

Table 5
January through August: Top 10 airports by scheduled passenger enplanements on U.S. airlines

Table 6
August: Top 10 airports by scheduled passenger enplanements on U.S. airlines

Scheduled Domestic Air Travel (Tables 7-12)

Table 7 (August and January through August):
Domestic revenue passenger-miles (RPMs)
Domestic available seat-miles (ASMs)
Domestic passenger load factor
Domestic flight stage length
Domestic passenger trip length

Table 8
Domestic scheduled enplanements on U.S. airlines by month since January 2008

Airline Rankings

Table 9
January through August: Top 10 domestic airlines by scheduled passenger enplanements

Table 10
August: Top 10 domestic airlines by scheduled passenger enplanements

Airport Rankings

Table 11
January through August: Top 10 domestic airports by scheduled passenger enplanements

Table 12
August: Top 10 domestic airports by scheduled passenger enplanements

Scheduled International Air Travel on U.S. Airlines (Tables 13-18)

Table 13 (August and January through August):
International revenue passenger-miles on U.S. airlines (RPMs)
International available seat-miles on U.S. airlines (ASMs)
International passenger load factor on U.S. airlines
International flight stage length on U.S. airlines
International passenger trip length on U.S. airlines

Table 14
International scheduled enplanements on U.S. airlines by month since January 2008

Airline Rankings

Table 15
January through August: Top 10 U.S. airlines by scheduled international passenger enplanements

Table 16
August: Top 10 U.S. airlines by scheduled international passenger enplanements

Airport Rankings

Table 17
January through August: Top 10 airports by scheduled international passenger enplanements on U.S. airlines

Table 18
August: Top 10 airports by scheduled international passenger enplanements on U.S. airlines

Reporting Notes

Data are compiled from monthly reports filed with BTS by commercial U.S. air carriers detailing operations, passenger traffic and freight traffic. This release includes data received by BTS from 77 carriers as of Nov. 2 for U.S. carrier scheduled civilian operations. Go to http://www.transtats.bts.gov/releaseinfo.asp for the complete list of reporting and non-reporting carriers. U.S. carriers foreign point-to-point flights are included in system and international totals. To create a customized table for passengers, flights, RPMs, ASMs and other data, including non-scheduled service, go to http://www.bts.gov/programs/airline_information/air_carrier_traffic_statistics/.

Traffic numbers are available on the BTS website at TranStats, the Intermodal Transportation Database, at http://transtats.bts.gov. Click on Aviation. For system passengers, RPMs and ASMs by carrier through August, click on Air Carrier Summary Data (Form 41 and 298C Summary Data), and then click on Schedule T-1. Use crosstabs to find scheduled service.

For domestic numbers through August and international numbers through May by origin as well as by carrier, after clicking on Aviation, click on Air Carrier Statistics (Form 41 Traffic). Click on T-100 Market for system passenger numbers, T-100 Domestic Market for domestic or T-100 International Market for international. For flights, stage length and trip length, use the appropriate T-100 Segment database. Use crosstabs to find scheduled service.

TranStats system and international totals do not include U.S. carriers foreign point-to-point flights. For August, U.S. carriers reported 236,035 foreign point-to-point passengers. For January through August, U.S. carriers reported 1,864,515 foreign point-to-point passengers.

Data are subject to revision. BTS has scheduled Dec. 9 for the release of September traffic data.

Table 1: Scheduled System (Domestic and International) Airline Travel on U.S. Airlines

Excel | CSV

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Market and Segment

*Change in load factor points

**The average non-stop distance flown per departure in miles

*** The average distance flown per passenger in miles

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

Table 2: Total System (Domestic and International) Scheduled Enplanements on U.S. Airlines

Passenger numbers in millions (000,000)

Excel | CSV

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Market

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

Table 3: Top 10 U.S. Airlines, ranked by January-August 2010 System* Scheduled Enplanements

Passenger numbers in millions (000,000)

Excel | CSV

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Market

* System equals domestic plus international

** Delta's January-August 2010 number is the report of the merged Delta and Northwest. The January-August 2009 numbers were reported separately by Delta and Northwest. Northwest reported 28.825 million system passengers in January-August 2009.

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

Note: For previous rankings see BTS Air Traffic Press Releases

Table 4: Top 10 U.S. Airlines, ranked by August 2010 System* Scheduled Enplanements

Passenger numbers in millions (000,000)

Excel | CSV

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Market

* System equals domestic plus international

** Delta's August 2010 number is the report of the merged Delta and Northwest. The August 2009 numbers were reported separately by Delta and Northwest. Northwest reported 3.935 million system passengers in August 2009.

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

Note: For previous rankings see BTS Air Traffic Press Releases

Table 5: Top 10 U.S. Airports, ranked by January-August 2010 System* Scheduled Enplanements on U.S. Airlines**

Passenger numbers in millions (000,000)

Excel | CSV

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Market

* System equals domestic plus international

** Numbers do not include international enplanements on foreign carriers

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

Note: For previous rankings see BTS Air Traffic Press Releases

Table 6: Top 10 U.S. Airports ranked by August 2010 System* Scheduled Enplanements on U.S. Airlines**

Passenger numbers in millions (000,000)

Excel | CSV

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Market

* System equals domestic plus international

** Numbers do not include international enplanements on foreign carriers

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

Note: For previous rankings see BTS Air Traffic Press Releases.

Table 7: Domestic Scheduled Airline Travel on U.S. Airlines

Excel | CSV

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Domestic Market and Segment

*Change in load factor points

**The average non-stop distance flown per departure in miles

*** The average distance flown per passenger in miles

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

Table 8: Domestic Scheduled Enplanements on U.S. Airlines

Passenger numbers in millions (000,000)

Excel | CSV

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Domestic Market

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

Table 9: Top 10 U.S. Airlines, ranked by January-August 2010 Domestic Scheduled Enplanements

Passenger numbers in millions (000,000)

Excel | CSV

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Domestic Market

* Delta's January-August 2010 number is the report of the merged Delta and Northwest. The January-August 2009 numbers were reported separately by Delta and Northwest. Northwest reported 22.907 million domestic passengers in January-August 2009.

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

Note: For previous rankings see BTS Air Traffic Press Releases

Table 10: Top 10 U.S. Airlines, ranked by August 2010 Domestic Scheduled Enplanements

Passenger numbers in millions (000,000)

Excel | CSV

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Domestic Market

* Delta's August 2010 number is the report of the merged Delta and Northwest. The August 2009 numbers were reported separately by Delta and Northwest. Northwest reported 3.139 million domestic passengers in August 2009.

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

Note: For previous rankings see BTS Air Traffic Press Releases

Table 11: Top 10 U.S. Airports, ranked by January-August 2010 Domestic Scheduled Enplanements

Passenger numbers in millions (000,000)

Excel | CSV

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Domestic Market

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

Note: For previous rankings see BTS Air Traffic Press Releases

Table 12: Top 10 U.S. Airports, ranked by August 2010 Domestic Scheduled Enplanements

Passenger numbers in millions (000,000)

Excel | CSV

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Domestic Market

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

Note: For previous rankings see BTS Air Traffic Press Releases

Table 13: International Scheduled Airline Travel on U.S. Airlines

Excel | CSV

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 International Market and Segment

*Change in load factor points

**The average non-stop distance flown per departure in miles

*** The average distance flown per passenger in miles

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

Table 14: International Scheduled Enplanements on U.S. Airlines

Passenger numbers in millions (000,000)

Excel | CSV

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 International Market

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

Table 15: Top 10 U.S. Airlines, ranked by January-August 2010 International Scheduled Enplanements

Passenger numbers in thousands (000)

Excel | CSV

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 International Market

* Delta's January-August 2010 number is the report of the merged Delta and Northwest. The January-August 2009 numbers were reported separately by Delta and Northwest. Northwest reported 5917.7 thousand international passengers in January-August 2009.

Note: For previous rankings see BTS Air Traffic Press Releases

Table 16: Top 10 U.S. Airlines, ranked by August 2010 International Scheduled Enplanements

Passenger numbers in thousands (000)

Excel | CSV

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 International Market

* Delta's August 2010 number is the report of the merged Delta and Northwest. The August 2009 numbers were reported separately by Delta and Northwest. Northwest reported 795.9 thousand international passengers in August 2009.

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

Note: For previous rankings see BTS Air Traffic Press Releases

Table 17: Top 10 U.S. Airports, ranked by January-August 2010 International Scheduled Enplanements on U.S. Airlines*

Passenger numbers in thousands (000)

Excel | CSV

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 International Market

* Numbers do not include international enplanements on foreign carriers

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

Note: For previous rankings see BTS Air Traffic Press Releases

Table 18: Top 10 U.S. Airports, ranked by August 2010 International Scheduled Enplanements on U.S. Airlines*

Passenger numbers in thousands (000)

Excel | CSV

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 International Market

* Numbers do not include international enplanements on foreign carriers

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

Note: For previous rankings see BTS Air Traffic Press Releases