The
Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) quarterly Passenger Origin and Destination Survey provides the data for the
ATPI. Through this survey, BTS collects data on a 10 percent sample of airline
itineraries. Each sample observation comprises a fare value (actual fare paid,
including tax), a sequence of airports and carriers, and other details of an
itinerary traveled by a passenger or group of passengers.
BTS
computes the ATPI series using a price index methodology similar to that used
by other federal statistical agencies. Although the ATPI is computed using a
tested index methodology, the effective application of this methodology to the
airlines' data is still under development, and it was still considered a research
series at the time this report was prepared. BTS updates the ATPI quarterly;
see http://www.bts.gov/.
