U.S. AIR CARRIERS AIRCRAFT CAPACITY UTILIZATION: INTERNATIONAL PASSENGERS AND FREIGHT
U.S. AIR CARRIERS AIRCRAFT CAPACITY UTILIZATION: INTERNATIONAL PASSENGERS AND FREIGHT
International Aircraft Revenue Load Factors (monthly data, not seasonally adjusted)
Aircraft load factors are used to measure aircraft in-flight capacity utilization.
| International Revenue Load Factors (percent) | Dec-00 | Dec-01 |
|---|---|---|
| Passenger revenue load factor | 70.29 | 72.25 |
| Passenger revenue load factor change from same month previous year | 3.75 | 1.97 |
| Overall aircraft revenue load factor | 58.17 | 55.39 |
| Overall aircraft revenue change from same month previous year | 0.39 | -2.78 |
| Freight revenue load factor | 48.85 | 44.50 |
| Freight revenue load factor change from same month previous year | -2.16 | -4.35 |
NOTES: The current value is compared to the value from the same period in the previous year to account for seasonality.
Load factor relates to the potential capacity of a system relative to its actual performance. In order to combine passenger and freight to calculate overall aircraft load factors, a common metric is needed: ton-miles. Thus, it is assumed that a passenger plus baggage weighs 200 pounds. The data do not include international flights by U.S. domestic carriers or domestic flights by foreign carriers.
The data include both transborder and foreign flights by U.S. carriers, but do not include any flights by foreign carriers.
The dramatic changes in the September 2001 data reflect the impact of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, on aviation, including several days in which commercial air operations were suspended.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Air Carrier Traffic Statistics Monthly, December 2001.