September 2010 Airline Traffic Data: System Traffic Up 4.9 Percent from September 2009

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Contact BTS 58-10 Dave Smallen 202-366-5568

Thursday, December 9, 2010 - The U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) today reported in a release of preliminary data that U.S. airlines carried 57.3 million scheduled domestic and international passengers in September 2010. This is a 4.9 percent increase from September 2009 and was the largest monthly year-over-year increase since September 2007 (Table 1). The September 2010 passenger total was also 5.7 percent above that of two years ago in September 2008 but still remained 3.2 percent below the pre-recession level of September 2007 (Table 2).

BTS, a part of DOT's Research and Innovative Technology Administration, also reported that U.S. airlines carried 4.3 percent more domestic passengers in September 2010 than in September 2009.  The number of international passengers on U.S. carriers in September 2010 increased 9.4 percent over September 2009 (Tables 7, 13). The September 2010 load factors of 81.0 percent systemwide, 79.9 percent domestic and 83.5 percent international were the highest recorded for any September (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 nine months of 2010, the number of scheduled domestic and international passengers on U.S. airlines increased 1.5 percent from the same period in 2009 to 541.5 million (Table 2). The number of passengers declined 6.8 percent from the first nine months of 2008 to the first nine months of 2010.

U.S. airlines carried 1.0 percent more domestic passengers and 5.3 percent more international passengers in the first nine months of 2010 than during the same period in 2009 (Tables 7, 13).

Top Airlines in September

In September, 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 nine 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 Delta's report.

Top Airports in September

In September, 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 nine 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 September, U.S. airlines operated 777,600 scheduled domestic and international flights, up 1.3 percent from the number of flights operated in September 2009 (Table 1). The number of domestic flights increased 1.0 percent in September from a year earlier while international flights were up 4.3 percent (Tables 7, 13).

During the first nine months of 2010, U.S. carriers operated 7.2 million domestic and international flights, 1.2 percent fewer than were operated during the same period in 2009 (Table 1). Domestic flights decreased 1.5 percent from the previous year while international flights were up 2.5 percent (Tables 7, 13).

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

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

Table 1 (September and January through September):
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 September: Top 10 airlines by scheduled passenger enplanements

Table 4
September: Top 10 airlines by scheduled passenger enplanements

Airport Rankings

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

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

Scheduled Domestic Air Travel (Tables 7-12)

Table 7 (September and January through September):
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 September: Top 10 domestic airlines by scheduled passenger enplanements

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

Airport Rankings

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

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

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

Table 13 (September and January through September):
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 September: Top 10 U.S. airlines by scheduled international passenger enplanements

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

Airport Rankings

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

Table 18
September: 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 81 carriers as of Dec. 1 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 September, 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 September and international numbers through June 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 September, U.S. carriers reported 199,524 foreign point-to-point passengers. For January through September, U.S. carriers reported 2,064,039 foreign point-to-point passengers.

Data are subject to revision. BTS has scheduled Jan. 13 for the release of October 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-September 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-September 2010 number is the report of the merged Delta and Northwest. The January-September 2009 numbers were reported separately by Delta and Northwest. Northwest reported 31.840 million system passengers in January-September 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 September 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 September 2010 number is the report of the merged Delta and Northwest. The September 2009 numbers were reported separately by Delta and Northwest. Northwest reported 3.015 million system passengers in September 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-September 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 September 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

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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-September 2010 Domestic Scheduled Enplanements

Passenger numbers in millions (000,000)

Excel | CSV

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

* Delta's January-September 2010 number is the report of the merged Delta and Northwest. The January-September 2009 numbers were reported separately by Delta and Northwest. Northwest reported 25.283 million domestic passengers in January-September 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 September 2010 Domestic Scheduled Enplanements

Passenger numbers in millions (000,000)

Excel | CSV

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

* Delta's September 2010 number is the report of the merged Delta and Northwest. The September 2009 numbers were reported separately by Delta and Northwest. Northwest reported 2.376 million domestic passengers in September 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-September 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 September 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-September 2010 International Scheduled Enplanements

Passenger numbers in thousands (000)

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

* Delta's January-September 2010 number is the report of the merged Delta and Northwest. The January-September 2009 numbers were reported separately by Delta and Northwest. Northwest reported 6556.4 thousand international passengers in January-September 2009.

Note: For previous rankings see BTS Air Traffic Press Releases

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

Passenger numbers in thousands (000)

Excel | CSV

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

* Delta's September 2010 number is the report of the merged Delta and Northwest. The September 2009 numbers were reported separately by Delta and Northwest. Northwest reported 638.6 thousand international passengers in September 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-September 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 September 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