Estimated October 2019 U.S. Airline Traffic Data
U.S. airlines carried an estimated 78.1 million system-wide (domestic and international) scheduled service passengers in October 2019, seasonally-adjusted, reaching a new seasonally-adjusted all-time high, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ (BTS) first estimate, up 0.9% from the September second estimate.
BTS estimated 68.5 million domestic passengers, which was also a new seasonally-adjusted all-time high, and 9.6 million international passengers on U.S. airlines flights in October.
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.
This release is a statistical estimate based on U.S. airlines reported data through August. BTS will release a second estimate of U.S. airlines October air traffic on Dec 12, followed by a release of the reported data on Jan 17.
Figure 1. Monthly Passengers on U.S. Scheduled Airlines (Domestic + International), Seasonally Adjusted, Oct 2016 - Oct 2019 (Sept 2019-Oct 2019 estimated)
| Passengers in millions (Seasonally Adjusted) | 1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Oct-16 | 69.1 | 2 |
| Nov-16 | 69.5 | 3 |
| Dec-16 | 69.6 | 4 |
| Jan-17 | 70.0 | 5 |
| Feb-17 | 69.8 | 6 |
| Mar-17 | 70.0 | 7 |
| Apr-17 | 70.5 | 8 |
| May-17 | 70.8 | 9 |
| Jun-17 | 70.5 | 10 |
| Jul-17 | 71.2 | 11 |
| Aug-17 | 71.2 | 12 |
| Sep-17 | 69.2 | 13 |
| Oct-17 | 71.9 | 14 |
| Nov-17 | 72.3 | 15 |
| Dec-17 | 72.2 | 16 |
| Jan-18 | 72.1 | 17 |
| Feb-18 | 73.3 | 18 |
| Mar-18 | 73.4 | 19 |
| Apr-18 | 74.0 | 20 |
| May-18 | 73.9 | 21 |
| Jun-18 | 74.8 | 22 |
| Jul-18 | 74.9 | 23 |
| Aug-18 | 74.6 | 24 |
| Sep-18 | 73.4 | 25 |
| Oct-18 | 74.8 | 26 |
| Nov-18 | 74.9 | 27 |
| Dec-18 | 75.4 | 28 |
| Jan-19 | 74.4 | 29 |
| Feb-19 | 75.2 | 30 |
| Mar-19 | 77.7 | 31 |
| Apr-19 | 76.7 | 32 |
| May-19 | 77.5 | 33 |
| Jun-19 | 77.9 | 34 |
| Jul-19 | 78.0 | 35 |
| Aug-19 | 77.8 | 36 |
| Sep-19 | 77.4 | 37 |
| Oct-19 | 78.1 | 38 |
| 39 |
Most recent two months estimated
Four measures of U.S. airlines passenger enplanements
Estimated October seasonally adjusted
- System-wide enplanements (78.1M) reached an estimated new all-time, seasonally-adjusted, high compared to reported data through August and estimate for September.
- Domestic enplanements (68.5M) reached an estimated new all-time, seasonally-adjusted, high compared to reported data through August and estimate for September.
- International enplanements (9.64M) were estimated down 1.2% from the all-time, seasonally-adjusted, reported high of 9.76 million reached in June 2019.
Reported August seasonally adjusted
- System-wide enplanements (77.8M) were down 0.3% from the all-time, seasonally-adjusted, reported high of 78.0 million reached in July 2019.
- Domestic enplanements (68.2M) were down 0.3% from the all-time, seasonally-adjusted, reported high of 68.4 million reached in July 2019.
- International enplanements (9.61M) were down 1.6% from the all-time, seasonally-adjusted, reported high of 9.76 million reached in June 2019.
Estimated October unadjusted
- System-wide enplanements (79.2M) reached a new estimated all-time high for the month of October.
- Domestic enplanements (70.5M) reached a new estimated all-time high for the month of October.
- International enplanements (8.74M) reached a new estimated all-time high for the month of October.
Reported August unadjusted
- System-wide enplanements (83.8M) reached a new reported all-time high for the month of August.
- Domestic enplanements (72.7M) reached a new reported all-time high for the month of August.
- International enplanements (11.07M) reached a new reported all-time high for the month of August.
Table A. Seasonally Adjusted Estimated and Reported Passenger Enplanements Compared to Previous Time Periods, October 2019 Estimate
| Seasonally Adjusted | Passengers (in millions) | Percent Change Compared to | 1 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Previous Month | Previous Year | Three Years Previous | 2 | ||
| October estimate | 78.1 | 0.9% | 4.4% | 13.0% | 3 |
| August reported | 77.8 | -0.3% | 4.2% | 14.6% | 4 |
| 5 |
Table B. Unadjusted Estimated and Reported Passenger Enplanements Compared to Previous Time Periods, October 2019 Estimate
| Unadjusted | Passengers (in millions) | Percent Change Compared to | 1 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Previous Year | Two Years Previous | Three Years Previous | 2 | ||
| October estimate | 79.2 | 4.9% | 9.0% | 13.9% | 3 |
| August reported | 83.8 | 3.4% | 8.7% | 14.1% | 4 |
| 5 |
Year-to-Date
For the first 10 months of 2019, January through October, U.S. airlines carried 775.2 million passengers, the highest total based on comparable records since 2003. The January-October number has reached a new high for five consecutive years. The 2019 10-month number is up 4.3% from 2018, up 9.3% from 2017 and up 12.4% from 2016. Numbers are unadjusted with 2019 consisting of eight months reported data and two months estimated.
Figure 2. January-October Passengers on U.S. Airlines - 2003-2019
| U.S. Airline Jan-Oct Passengers | 1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 540 | 2 | |||
| 2004 | 587 | 3 | |||
| 2005 | 620 | 4 | |||
| 2006 | 624 | 5 |
For the September and October estimates and for data filed through August, 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 78 U.S. carriers as of Nov. 5 for U.S. carrier scheduled civilian operations.
See the BTS Airlines and Airports page for additional scheduled service numbers through August for U.S. airlines. International data by origin and destination is available through September.
BTS has scheduled Dec 12 for the release of the first estimate of November air traffic data, the second estimate of October air traffic data and reported data through September.
None of the data are from samples. Measures of statistical significance do not apply to the complete air traffic data.