Estimated March 2019 U.S. Airline Traffic Data
U.S. airlines carried an estimated 74.9 million systemwide (domestic and international) scheduled service passengers in March 2019, seasonally-adjusted, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ (BTS) first estimate, up 0.1% from the February second estimate.
The BTS estimate of a March enplanement total of 74.9 million was down 0.5% from the all-time, seasonally-adjusted, reported high of 75.4 million reached in July 2018.
U.S. airline traffic reports are filed monthly with BTS. See the tables that accompany this release on the BTS website for summary data since 2016 (Tables 1-24) and complete data since 2000.
Figure 1. Seasonally-Adjusted Systemwide Passenger Enplanements on All U.S. Scheduled Airlines (Domestic & International), March 2016 - March 2019 (Feb 2019-March 2019 estimated)
| Enplanements in millions (Seasonally Adjusted) | 1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Mar-16 | 67.2 | 2 |
| Apr-16 | 68.0 | 3 |
| May-16 | 68.6 | 4 |
| Jun-16 | 68.8 | 5 |
| Jul-16 | 68.2 | 6 |
| Aug-16 | 67.9 | 7 |
| Sep-16 | 69.4 | 8 |
| Oct-16 | 69.2 | 9 |
| Nov-16 | 69.6 | 10 |
| Dec-16 | 69.6 | 11 |
| Jan-17 | 70.0 | 12 |
| Feb-17 | 69.7 | 13 |
| Mar-17 | 70.1 | 14 |
| Apr-17 | 70.5 | 15 |
| May-17 | 70.9 | 16 |
| Jun-17 | 70.7 | 17 |
| Jul-17 | 71.6 | 18 |
| Aug-17 | 71.2 | 19 |
| Sep-17 | 68.5 | 20 |
| Oct-17 | 72.0 | 21 |
| Nov-17 | 72.3 | 22 |
| Dec-17 | 72.2 | 23 |
| Jan-18 | 72.1 | 24 |
| Feb-18 | 73.2 | 25 |
| Mar-18 | 73.3 | 26 |
| Apr-18 | 74.1 | 27 |
| May-18 | 74.1 | 28 |
| Jun-18 | 75.1 | 29 |
| Jul-18 | 75.4 | 30 |
| Aug-18 | 74.7 | 31 |
| Sep-18 | 72.5 | 32 |
| Oct-18 | 75.0 | 33 |
| Nov-18 | 74.9 | 34 |
| Dec-18 | 75.3 | 35 |
| Jan-19 | 74.1 | 36 |
| Feb-19 | 74.9 | 37 |
| Mar-19 | 74.9 | 38 |
| 39 |
Most recent two months estimated
This release is a statistical estimate based on U.S. airlines reported data through January. BTS will release a second estimate of U.S. airlines March air traffic on May 16, followed by a release of the reported data on June 13.
Four measures of U.S. airlines passenger enplanements
Estimated March seasonally adjusted
- System-wide enplanements were down 0.5% from the all-time, seasonally-adjusted, reported high of 75.4 million reached in July 2018.
- Domestic enplanements were down 0.8% from the all-time, seasonally-adjusted, reported high of 66.0 million reached in July 2018.
- International enplanements reached new seasonally-adjusted all-time highs based on the estimate compared to reported data through January.
Reported January seasonally adjusted
- System-wide enplanements were down 1.7% from the all-time, seasonally-adjusted, reported high of 75.4 million reached in July 2018.
- Domestic enplanements were down 2.0% from the all-time, seasonally-adjusted, reported high of 66.0 million reached in July 2018.
- International enplanements were down 0.1% from the all-time, seasonally-adjusted, reported high of 9.4 million reached in October 2018.
Estimated March unadjusted
- Systemwide, domestic, and international enplanements all reached all-time highs for the month of January.
Reported January unadjusted
- Systemwide, domestic, and international enplanements all reached all-time highs for the month of January.
Table A. Seasonally-Adjusted Estimated and Reported Passenger Enplanements Compared to Previous Time Periods
| Seasonally Adjusted | Passengers (in millions) | Percent Change Compared to | 1 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Previous Month | Previous Year | Three Years Previous | 2 | ||
| March estimate | 74.9 | 0.1% | 2.2% | 11.5% | 3 |
| January reported | 74.1 | -1.6% | 2.8% | 9.1% | 4 |
| 5 |
Table B. Unadjusted Estimated and Reported Passenger Enplanements Compared to Previous Time Periods
| Unadjusted | Passengers (in millions) | Percent Change Compared to | 1 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Previous Year | Two Years Previous | Three Years Previous | 2 | ||
| March estimate | 77.4 | 22.1% | 1.4% | 9.7% | 3 |
| January reported | 66.7 | -8.5% | 3.5% | 9.7% | 4 |
| 5 |
For the February and March estimates and for data filed through December, see accompanying tables. For the complete database of reported data, see Traffic. For an explanation of BTS’ seasonal adjustment methodology, see Seasonal Adjustment.
BTS Estimates
For seasonally-adjusted passenger numbers, BTS first estimates have averaged within 0.8% of reported data while second estimates have averaged within 0.6% of reported data.
For unadjusted passenger numbers, BTS first estimates have averaged within 1.0% of reported data while second estimates have averaged within 0.7% of reported data.
For an explanation of BTS’ estimate methodology see Air Traffic Methodology.
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 75 U.S. carriers as of April 3 for U.S. carrier scheduled civilian operations.
See the BTS Airlines and Airports page for additional scheduled service numbers through January for U.S. airlines. International data by origin and destination is available through October.
BTS has scheduled May 16 for the release of the first estimate of April air traffic data, the second estimate of March air traffic data and reported data through February.
None of the data are from samples. Measures of statistical significance do not apply to the complete air traffic data.