August 2009 Airline Traffic Data: System Traffic Down 4.1 Percent from August 2008

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Contact BTS 53-09 Dave Smallen 202-366-5568

Friday, November 13, 2009 - The number of scheduled domestic and international passengers on U.S. airlines in August 2009 declined by 4.1 percent from August 2008, dropping by 2.8 million to 65.0 million, the Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) today reported (Table 1).  August was the 17th consecutive month with a decrease in passengers from the prior year (Table 2).

BTS, a part of DOT’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration, in a release of preliminary data, reported that U.S. airlines carried 4.1 percent fewer domestic passengers than in August 2008. International passengers on U.S. carriers decreased 4.5 percent (Tables 7, 13).

For the first eight months of 2009, the number of scheduled domestic and international passengers on U.S. airlines declined by 7.6 percent from the same period in 2008, dropping to 478.6 million, 39.3 million fewer than a year earlier, and the lowest January-to-August total since 2004 (Tables 1, 2). For historic numbers, see Traffic.

U.S. airlines carried 7.5 percent fewer domestic passengers and 8.2 percent fewer international passengers in the first eight months of 2009 than during the same period in 2008 (Tables 7, 13).

Top Airlines

In August, Southwest Airlines carried more total system and more domestic passengers for the first eight months than any other U.S. airline (Tables 4 and 10).  American Airlines carried more international passengers than any other U.S. carrier (Table 16).

During the first eight months of 2009, Southwest carried more total system and more domestic passengers than any other U.S. airline (Tables 3 and 9).  American carried more international passengers than any other U.S. carrier (Table 15).

Top Airports

In August, more total system and domestic passengers boarded planes in the first eight months 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 2009, 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 852,600 scheduled domestic and international flights, down 5.4 percent from the number of flights operated in August 2008 (Table 1). The number of domestic flights decreased 5.3 percent in August from a year earlier while international flights were down 6.8 percent (Tables 7, 13).

During the first eight months of 2009, U.S. carriers operated 6.5 million domestic and international flights, 8.2 percent fewer than were operated during the same period in 2008 (Table 1).  Domestic flights decreased 8.3 percent from the previous year while international flights were down 7.3 percent (Tables 7, 13).

For other comparisons from the first eight months of 2008 to the first eight months of 2009 and from August 2008 to August 2009, 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 2007

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 2007

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 2007

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 August

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 84 carriers as of Nov. 3 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/.

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.

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 246,285 foreign point-to-point passengers. For January through August, U.S. carriers reported 1,776,791 foreign point-to-point passengers.

Data are subject to revision.  BTS has scheduled Dec. 10 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 2009 System* Scheduled Enplanements

Passenger numbers in millions (000,000)

Excel | CSV

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Market

* System equals domestic plus international

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

Table 4: Top 10 U.S. Airlines, ranked by August 2009 System* Scheduled Enplanements

Passenger numbers in millions (000,000)

Excel | CSV

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Market

* System equals domestic plus international

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

Table 5: Top 10 U.S. Airports, ranked by January-August 2009 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.

Table 6: Top 10 U.S. Airports ranked by August 2009 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.

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 2009 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.

Table 10: Top 10 U.S. Airlines, ranked by August 2009 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.

Table 11: Top 10 U.S. Airports, ranked by January-August 2009 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.

Table 12: Top 10 U.S. Airports, ranked by August 2009 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.

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 2009 International Scheduled Enplanements

Passenger numbers in thousands (000)

Excel | CSV

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

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

Table 16: Top 10 U.S. Airlines, ranked by August 2009 International Scheduled Enplanements

Passenger numbers in thousands (000)

Excel | CSV

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

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

Table 17: Top 10 U.S. Airports, ranked by January-August 2009 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.

Table 18: Top 10 U.S. Airports, ranked by August 2009 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.