Preliminary Estimated Full Year 2019 and December 2019 U.S. Airline Traffic Data
NOTE: The information below is estimated and has been superseded with actual data on March 19, 2020 in BTS release 14-20 at www.bts.gov/newsroom/final-full-year-2019-traffic-data-us-airlines-and-foreign-airlines-us-flights.
Figure 1. January-December Passengers on U.S. Airlines - 2003-2019
| U.S. Airline Jan-Dec Passengers | 1 | |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 647 | 2 |
| 2004 | 704 | 3 |
| 2005 | 739 | 4 |
| 2006 | 745 | 5 |
| 2007 | 770 | 6 |
| 2008 | 743 | 7 |
| 2009 | 704 | 8 |
| 2010 | 720 | 9 |
| 2011 | 731 | 10 |
| 2012 | 737 | 11 |
| 2013 | 743 | 12 |
| 2014 | 763 | 13 |
| 2015 | 798 | 14 |
| 2016 | 824 | 15 |
| 2017 | 849 | 16 |
| 2018 | 889 | 17 |
| 2019 (est) | 926 | 18 |
| 19 |
Month of December
U.S. airlines carried an estimated 78.2 million systemwide (domestic and international) scheduled service passengers in December 2019, reaching a new seasonally-adjusted all-time high, according to the BTS first estimate, up 0.4% from the November second estimate. The November estimate was revised down from last month’s release.
BTS estimated 68.6 million domestic passengers and 9.7 million international passengers on U.S. airlines flights in December. The domestic passenger number was a seasonally-adjusted all-time high.
Figure 2. Monthly Passengers on U.S. Scheduled Airlines (Domestic + International), Seasonally Adjusted, Dec 2016 - Dec 2019 (Nov 2019-Dec 2019 estimated)
| Passengers in millions (Seasonally Adjusted) | 1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Dec-16 | 69.7 | 2 |
| Jan-17 | 70.0 | 3 |
| Feb-17 | 69.8 | 4 |
| Mar-17 | 70.0 | 5 |
| Apr-17 | 70.5 | 6 |
| May-17 | 70.7 | 7 |
| Jun-17 | 70.5 | 8 |
| Jul-17 | 71.2 | 9 |
| Aug-17 | 71.2 | 10 |
| Sep-17 | 69.2 | 11 |
| Oct-17 | 72.0 | 12 |
| Nov-17 | 72.3 | 13 |
| Dec-17 | 72.3 | 14 |
| Jan-18 | 72.2 | 15 |
| Feb-18 | 73.3 | 16 |
| Mar-18 | 73.4 | 17 |
| Apr-18 | 74.0 | 18 |
| May-18 | 73.9 | 19 |
| Jun-18 | 74.7 | 20 |
| Jul-18 | 74.8 | 21 |
| Aug-18 | 74.6 | 22 |
| Sep-18 | 73.4 | 23 |
| Oct-18 | 75.0 | 24 |
| Nov-18 | 74.9 | 25 |
| Dec-18 | 75.4 | 26 |
| Jan-19 | 74.5 | 27 |
| Feb-19 | 75.3 | 28 |
| Mar-19 | 77.7 | 29 |
| Apr-19 | 76.7 | 30 |
| May-19 | 77.4 | 31 |
| Jun-19 | 77.8 | 32 |
| Jul-19 | 77.9 | 33 |
| Aug-19 | 77.7 | 34 |
| Sep-19 | 77.2 | 35 |
| Oct-19 | 77.7 | 36 |
| Nov-19 | 77.9 | 37 |
| Dec-19 | 78.2 | 38 |
| 39 |
Most recent two months estimated
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 October. BTS will release a second estimate of U.S. airlines December air traffic on Feb. 13, followed by a release of the reported data on March 12.
Four measures of U.S. airlines passenger enplanements
Estimated December seasonally-adjusted
- System-wide enplanements (78.2M) reached a new all-time, seasonally-adjusted, high based on the estimate compared to reported data through October and estimate for November.
- Domestic enplanements (68.6M) reached a new all-time, seasonally-adjusted, high based on the estimate compared to reported data through October and estimate for November.
- International enplanements (9.68M) were down 0.7% from the all-time, seasonally-adjusted, reported high of 9.75 million reached in June 2019.
Reported October seasonally-adjusted
- System-wide enplanements (77.7M) were down 0.3% from the all-time, seasonally-adjusted, reported high of 77.9 million reached in July 2019.
- Domestic enplanements (68.1M) were down 0.4% from the all-time, seasonally-adjusted, reported high of 68.3 million reached in July 2019.
- International enplanements (9.64M) were down 1.2% from the all-time, seasonally-adjusted, reported high of 9.75 million reached in June 2019.
Estimated December unadjusted
- Systemwide enplanements (78.4M) reached a new estimated all-time high for the month of December.
- Domestic enplanements (68.9M) reached a new estimated all-time high for the month of December.
- International enplanements (9.56M) reached a new estimated all-time high for the month of December.
Reported October unadjusted
- Systemwide enplanements (78.6M) reached a new reported all-time high for the month of October.
- Domestic enplanements (69.9M) reached a new reported all-time high for the month of October.
- International enplanements (8.69M) reached a new reported all-time high for the month of October.
Table A. Seasonally Adjusted Estimated and Reported Passenger Enplanements Compared to Previous Time Periods, December Estimate
| Seasonally Adjusted | Passengers (in millions) | Percent Change Compared to | 1 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Previous Month | Previous Year | Three Years Previous | 2 | ||
| December estimate | 78.2 | 0.4% | 3.8% | 12.3% | 3 |
| October reported | 77.7 | 0.6% | 3.7% | 12.3% | 4 |
| 5 |
Table B. Unadjusted Estimated and Reported Passenger Enplanements Compared to Previous Time Periods, December Estimate
| Unadjusted | Passengers (in millions) | Percent Change Compared to | 1 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Previous Year | Two Years Previous | Three Years Previous | 2 | ||
| December estimate | 78.4 | 7.6% | 11.5% | 15.4% | 3 |
| October reported | 78.6 | 4.1% | 8.1% | 13.1% | 4 |
| 5 |
For the November and December estimates and for data filed through October, 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 73 U.S. carriers as of Jan. 7 for U.S. carrier scheduled civilian operations.
See the BTS Airlines and Airports page for additional scheduled service numbers through October for U.S. airlines. International data by origin and destination is available through July.
BTS has scheduled Feb. 13 for the release of the first estimate of January air traffic data, the second estimate of December air traffic data and reported data through November.
None of the data are from samples. Measures of statistical significance do not apply to the complete air traffic data.