SOURCE for Recession Dates: National Bureau of Economic Research, US Business Cycle Expansions and Contractions

U.S. airlines carried 4.9 percent more passengers on domestic flights and 3.1 percent more passengers on international flights in 2018 than in 2017 for a systemwide increase of 4.7 percent. Foreign airlines carried 5.6 percent more passengers to and from the U.S. than in 2017. The 233.6 million passengers on international flights to and from the U.S. was a record high, exceeding the previous high set in 2017 (Tables 1A, 1B, 5, 9).

This annual release includes preliminary data on U.S. carrier scheduled domestic and international service, including from one foreign point to another foreign point, and foreign carrier scheduled international service to and from the U.S. BTS monthly air traffic releases include data on U.S. carrier scheduled service only.

Domestic load factor fell 0.1 points as demand, measured in RPMs, rose 5.4 percent, slightly less than the 5.5 percent growth in capacity measured in ASMs (Table 5).

Demand on international flights, measured in RPMs, rose 5.0 percent, more than the 3.7 percent growth in capacity measured in ASMs. The result was a 1.0 point rise in the international load factor to 81.7 from 80.6 in 2017 (Table 9).

For annual airline and airport statistics, the accompanying Tables 1 through 4 provide combined domestic and international travel statistics, Tables 5 through 8 provide domestic travel statistics and Tables 9 through 12 provide international travel statistics.

Go to the complete list of reporting and non-reporting carriers. Figure 1 numbers begin with 2003, the first full year of data following a reporting change that went into effect in October 2002. U.S. carriers’ foreign point-to-point flights are included in system and international totals. To create a customized table for U.S. carrier passengers, flights, RPMs, ASMs and other data, including non-scheduled service, go to BTS Air Carrier Traffic Statistics.

For additional scheduled service numbers for U.S. and foreign airlines, by airline and by airport, see Passengers, Flights, Revenue Passenger-Miles, Available Seat-Miles and Load Factor.

Traffic numbers are available on the BTS website at TranStats. Click on “Aviation.” For U.S. carrier systemwide passengers, RPMs and ASMs by carrier through December, 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 December and international numbers through September by origin as well as by carrier, click on “Aviation,” then 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.

Complete international data for the full year 2018 will be released on June 13.

None of the data are from samples so measures of statistical significance do not apply. Data in this press release are not seasonally adjusted.