Total Passengers on U.S Airlines and Foreign Airlines Serving the U.S. Increased 1.3% in 2013 from 2012
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported today that U.S. airlines and foreign airlines serving the United States carried 826.0 million systemwide (domestic + international) scheduled service passengers in 2013, 1.3 percent more than in 2012 and the highest total since 2007. The systemwide total was the result of a 0.5 percent increase in the number of domestic passengers (645.6 million) and a 4.0 percent increase in international passengers (180.4 million) (Tables 1, 1A, 5).
Annual Passengers on All U.S. Scheduled Airlines (Domestic & International) and Foreign Airlines to and from the United States, 2006-2013
SOURCE for Recession Dates: National Bureau of Economic Research, US Business Cycle Expansions and Contractions
U.S. airlines carried 0.5 percent more domestic passengers and 3.3 percent more international passengers than in 2012 for a systemwide increase of 0.9 percent. The number of passengers traveling to and from the United States on foreign carriers increased 4.9 percent from 2012 (Table 1A).
This annual release includes preliminary data on U.S. carrier scheduled domestic and international service and foreign carrier scheduled international service to and from the United States. BTS regular monthly air traffic releases include data on U.S. carrier scheduled service only. For U.S. domestic service data for 2013, see the BTS December Air Traffic press release.
An upward trend of international passenger numbers continued throughout the year with increases each month in 2013 compared to the same month in 2012. Year-to-year declines in domestic passenger numbers resulted in decreases in total passenger numbers from the corresponding month of 2012 in February, April and November (Tables 2, 6).
Top Airlines in 2012
Delta Air Lines carried more total system passengers in 2013 than any other U.S. airline for the fourth consecutive year. United Airlines carried more international passengers to and from the United States in 2013 than any other U.S. or foreign carrier for the second consecutive year (Tables 3 and 7).
Top Airports in 2012
More total system passengers boarded planes in 2013 at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International than at any other U.S. airport (Table 4); and more international passengers boarded planes at New York John F. Kennedy than at any other U.S. airport (Table 8).
Load Factor and Capacity
Revenue passenger-miles rose 3.1 percent from 2012 to 2013, faster than the 2.7 percent growth in capacity, measured in available seat-miles. The result was a 0.3 point rise in load factor to 82.8, the highest annual load factor on record for U.S. carriers and foreign carriers serving the United States (Table 1).
For annual airline and airport statistics, Tables 1 through 4 provide combined domestic and international travel statistics, and Tables 5 through 8 provide international travel statistics.
Reporting Notes
Data are compiled from monthly reports filed with BTS by commercial U.S. and foreign air carriers detailing operations, passenger traffic and freight traffic. This release includes data received by BTS from 192 carriers as of March 4 for U.S. and foreign carrier scheduled civilian operations. See the complete list of reporting and non-reporting carriers.
Southwest and AirTran Airways are reporting as separate carriers with the exception of their financial reports. They have one FAA SOC (single operating certificate), requiring that they utilize the same safety/operating procedures, but they have separate DOT 401 economic certificates, meaning they remain operating as separate economic entities.
For additional passenger, flight, Revenue Passenger-Miles, Available Seat-Miles, load factor and freight numbers, go to the Airlines and Airports page and use the Quick Links. International totals and results for foreign carriers may differ from the press release until the next database update scheduled for April 10. These tables do not include U.S. carrier foreign point-to-point operations. For 2013, U.S. carriers reported 2,309,413 foreign point-to-point passengers.
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.
Additional traffic numbers are available on the BTS website at TranStats. Click on "Aviation." For U.S. carrier system 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, after clicking on "Aviation," 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 2013 will be released on June 12.
TranStats system and international totals do not include U.S. carriers' foreign point-to-point flights. None of the data are from samples so measures of statistical significance do not apply.
Table 1. Scheduled Domestic and International Airline Travel on U.S. and Foreign Airlines*
| Annual | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 2013 | Change % | |
| Passengers (in millions) | 815.7 | 826.0 | 1.3 |
| Flights (in thousands) | 9,825.9 | 9,700.1 | -1.3 |
| Revenue Passenger Miles (in billions) | 1,134.4 | 1,169.2 | 3.1 |
| Available Seat-Miles (in billions) | 1,374.9 | 1,412.5 | 2.7 |
| Load Factor** | 82.5 | 82.8 | 0.3 |
| Flight Stage Length*** | 863.2 | 884.8 | 2.5 |
| Passenger Trip Length**** | 1,390.7 | 1,415.5 | 1.8 |
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Market and Segment
* Includes U.S. carrier scheduled domestic and international service and foreign carrier scheduled international service to and from the United States. For U.S. domestic service data for 2013, see the BTS December air traffic press release https://www.bts.gov/newsroom/january-2014-airline-time-performance-down-previous-year-december/p>
* Change in load factor points
** The average non-stop distance flown per departure in miles
*** The average distance flown per passenger in miles
Note: Percentage changes based on numbers prior to rounding.
Table 1A. Passengers on U.S. Carriers and on Foreign Carriers' U.S. Flights 2012-2013
Passenger numbers in millions (000,000)
| 2012 | 2013 | Change % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Carrier | Domestic | 642.3 | 645.6 | 0.5 |
| International | 94.4 | 97.5 | 3.3 | |
| System | 736.7 | 743.1 | 0.9 | |
| Foreign Carrier | To and From U.S. | 79.0 | 82.9 | 4.9 |
| Total | 815.7 | 826.0 | 1.3 | |
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Market
Table 2. Scheduled Domestic and International Enplanements by Month on U.S. and Foreign Airlines*
Passenger numbers in millions (000,000)
| 2011 | 2012 | 2011-2012 Pct. Change | 2013 | 2012-2013 Pct. Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 59.2 | 60.5 | 2.2 | 61.8 | 2.1 |
| February | 54.8 | 58.3 | 6.4 | 57.9 | -0.7 |
| March | 69.3 | 70.8 | 2.2 | 71.9 | 1.6 |
| April | 66.6 | 67.9 | 2.0 | 67.7 | -0.3 |
| May | 70.1 | 70.3 | 0.2 | 72.1 | 2.5 |
| June | 72.8 | 73.7 | 1.2 | 74.4 | 0.9 |
| July | 77.2 | 76.9 | -0.3 | 77.1 | 0.3 |
| August | 73.4 | 75.5 | 2.9 | 75.8 | 0.4 |
| September | 64.4 | 64.1 | -0.4 | 65.1 | 1.5 |
| October | 67.5 | 67.4 | -0.2 | 69.0 | 2.4 |
| November | 64.0 | 64.8 | 1.3 | 63.6 | -1.8 |
| December | 65.3 | 65.5 | 0.3 | 69.5 | 6.2 |
| Yr. Total | 804.5 | 815.7 | 1.4 | 826.0 | 1.3 |
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Market
* Includes U.S. carrier scheduled domestic and international service and foreign carrier scheduled international service to and from the United States. For U.S. domestic service data for 2013, see the BTS December air traffic press release https://www.bts.gov/newsroom/january-2014-airline-time-performance-down-previous-year-december
Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.
Table 3. Top 10 Airlines, ranked by January-December 2013 Scheduled Domestic and International Enplanements*
Passenger numbers in millions (000,000)
| 2013 Rank | Carrier | 2013 Enplaned Passengers | 2012 Rank | 2012 Enplaned Passengers | Pct. Change 2012-2013 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Delta | 120.389 | 1 | 116.445 | 3.4 |
| 2 | Southwest** | 115.323 | 2 | 112.234 | 2.8 |
| 3 | United | 90.113 | 3 | 92.367 | -2.4 |
| 4 | American | 86.823 | 4 | 86.335 | 0.6 |
| 5 | US Airways | 57.007 | 5 | 54.238 | 5.1 |
| 6 | ExpressJet | 32.957 | 6 | 32.376 | 1.8 |
| 7 | JetBlue | 30.428 | 7 | 28.934 | 5.2 |
| 8 | SkyWest | 27.139 | 8 | 26.163 | 3.7 |
| 9 | Alaska | 19.700 | 11 | 18.495 | 6.5 |
| 10 | AirTran** | 17.817 | 9 | 21.745 | -18.1 |
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Market
* Includes U.S. carrier scheduled domestic and international service and foreign carrier scheduled international service to and from the United States. For U.S. domestic service data for 2013, see the BTS December Air Traffic press release. https://www.bts.gov/newsroom/january-2014-airline-time-performance-down-previous-year-december
** The merged Southwest and AirTran are now reporting separately although operating under a single certificate.
Note: Percentage changes based on numbers prior to rounding.
Table 4. Top 10 Airports ranked by January-December 2013 Scheduled Domestic and International Enplanements on U.S. and Foreign Airlines*
Passenger numbers in millions (000,000)
| 2013 Rank | Airport | 2013 Enplaned Passengers | 2012 Rank | 2012 Enplaned Passengers | Pct. Change 2012-2013 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atlanta | 45.272 | 1 | 45.713 | -1.0 |
| 2 | Los Angeles | 32.347 | 3 | 31.332 | 3.2 |
| 3 | Chicago O'Hare | 32.161 | 2 | 32.063 | 0.3 |
| 4 | Dallas/Fort Worth | 28.996 | 4 | 27.996 | 3.6 |
| 5 | Denver | 25.467 | 5 | 25.776 | -1.2 |
| 6 | New York JFK | 24.996 | 6 | 24.452 | 2.2 |
| 7 | San Francisco | 21.660 | 7 | 21.292 | 1.7 |
| 8 | Charlotte | 21.328 | 8 | 20.016 | 6.6 |
| 9 | Las Vegas | 19.819 | 9 | 19.774 | 0.2 |
| 10 | Phoenix | 19.504 | 10 | 19.537 | -0.2 |
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Market
* Includes U.S. carrier scheduled domestic and international service and foreign carrier scheduled international service to and from the United States. For U.S. domestic service data for 2013, see the BTS December Air Traffic press release, https://www.bts.gov/newsroom/january-2014-airline-time-performance-down-previous-year-december
Note: Percentage changes based on numbers prior to rounding.
Table 5. International Scheduled Airline Travel on U.S. and Foreign Airlines*
| Annual | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 2012 % of Total | 2013 | 2013 % of Total | Change % | |
| Passengers (in millions) | 173.4 | 180.4 | 4.0 | ||
| U.S. Carriers | 94.4 | 54.4 | 97.5 | 54.0 | 3.3 |
| Foreign Carriers | 79.0 | 45.6 | 82.9 | 46.0 | 4.9 |
| Flights (in thousands) | 1379.7 | 1387.1 | 0.5 | ||
| U.S. Carriers | 842.6 | 61.1 | 846.8 | 61.0 | 0.5 |
| Foreign Carriers | 537.1 | 38.9 | 540.3 | 39.0 | 0.6 |
| Revenue Passenger Miles (in billions) | 564.5 | 590.5 | 4.6 | ||
| U.S. Carriers | 254.5 | 45.1 | 262.5 | 44.5 | 3.2 |
| Foreign Carriers | 310.0 | 54.9 | 327.9 | 55.5 | 5.8 |
| Available Seat-Miles (in billions) | 691.3 | 719.1 | 4.0 | ||
| U.S. Carriers | 312.5 | 45.2 | 318.9 | 44.3 | 2.1 |
| Foreign Carriers | 378.8 | 54.8 | 400.2 | 55.7 | 5.7 |
| Load Factor** | 81.7 | 82.1 | 0.6 | ||
| U.S. Carriers | 81.4 | 82.3 | 1.1 | ||
| Foreign Carriers | 81.8 | 81.9 | 0.1 | ||
| Flight Stage Length*** | 2186.8 | 2237.3 | 2.3 | ||
| Passenger Trip Length**** | 3254.9 | 3273.9 | 0.6 | ||
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 International Market and Segment
* Includes U.S. carrier scheduled international service and foreign carrier scheduled international service to and from the United States. For U.S. carrier scheduled international service data for 2013, see the BTS December air traffic press release, https://www.bts.gov/newsroom/january-2014-airline-time-performance-down-previous-year-december
** Change in load factor points
*** The average non-stop distance flown per departure in miles
**** The average distance flown per passenger in miles
Note: Percentage changes based on numbers prior to rounding.
Table 6. International Scheduled Enplanements by Month on U.S. and Foreign Airlines*
Passenger numbers in millions (000,000)
| 2011 | 2012 | 2011-2012 Pct. Change | 2013 | 2012-2013 Pct. Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 12.9 | 13.4 | 4.0 | 14.0 | 4.0 |
| February | 11.2 | 11.9 | 6.8 | 12.2 | 2.4 |
| March | 13.7 | 14.6 | 6.9 | 15.4 | 5.2 |
| April | 13.7 | 14.2 | 3.7 | 14.5 | 1.7 |
| May | 14.1 | 14.5 | 2.7 | 15.5 | 6.7 |
| June | 15.0 | 15.8 | 5.2 | 16.4 | 3.9 |
| July | 16.8 | 17.2 | 2.1 | 17.8 | 3.7 |
| August | 16.0 | 16.9 | 5.6 | 17.7 | 5.0 |
| September | 13.4 | 14.0 | 4.4 | 14.3 | 2.2 |
| October | 13.4 | 13.6 | 1.8 | 14.4 | 5.5 |
| November | 12.3 | 12.9 | 5.1 | 13.1 | 0.9 |
| December | 13.7 | 14.3 | 4.0 | 15.2 | 6.1 |
| Yr. Total | 166.3 | 173.4 | 4.3 | 180.4 | 4.0 |
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 International Market
* Includes U.S. carrier scheduled domestic and international service and foreign carrier scheduled international service to and from the United States. For U.S. domestic service data for 2013, see the BTS December air traffic press release, https://www.bts.gov/newsroom/january-2014-airline-time-performance-down-previous-year-december
Note: Percentage changes based on numbers prior to rounding.
Table 7. Top 10 Airlines, ranked by January-December 2013 International Scheduled Enplanements*
Passenger numbers in thousands (000)
| 2013 Rank | Carrier | 2013 Enplaned Passengers | 2012 Rank | 2012 Enplaned Passengers | Pct. Change 2012-2013 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United | 24,999.4 | 1 | 24,833.7 | 0.7 |
| 2 | Delta | 22,016.9 | 3 | 21,006.4 | 4.8 |
| 3 | American | 21,770.3 | 2 | 21,325.5 | 2.1 |
| 4 | US Airways | 7,008.1 | 4 | 6,795.5 | 3.1 |
| 5 | British Air | 6,666.2 | 5 | 6,716.1 | -0.7 |
| 6 | Air Canada | 5,778.6 | 6 | 5,916.1 | -2.3 |
| 7 | Lufthansa | 5,272.3 | 7 | 5,069.2 | 4.0 |
| 8 | JetBlue | 4,589.1 | 8 | 4,063.7 | 12.9 |
| 9 | WestJet | 3,914.0 | 9 | 3,569.1 | 9.7 |
| 10 | Air France | 3,431.2 | 10 | 3,446.8 | -0.5 |
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 International Market
* Includes U.S. carrier scheduled domestic and international service and foreign carrier scheduled international service to and from the United States. For U.S. domestic service data for 2013, see the BTS December air traffic press release https://www.bts.gov/newsroom/january-2014-airline-time-performance-down-previous-year-december
Note: Percentage changes based on numbers prior to rounding.
Table 8. Top 10 Airports ranked by January-December 2013 International Scheduled Enplanements on U.S. and Foreign Airlines*
Passenger numbers in thousands (000)
| 2013 Rank | Airport | 2013 Enplaned Passengers | 2012 Rank | 2012 Enplaned Passengers | Pct. Change 2012-2013 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York JFK | 13,028.2 | 1 | 12,363.0 | 5.4 |
| 2 | Miami | 9,790.1 | 2 | 9,314.5 | 5.1 |
| 3 | Los Angeles | 8,528.1 | 3 | 8,312.7 | 2.6 |
| 4 | Newark | 5,577.1 | 4 | 5,577.1 | 0.0 |
| 5 | Chicago O'Hare | 5,209.8 | 5 | 5,055.2 | 3.1 |
| 6 | Atlanta | 4,943.6 | 6 | 4,775.4 | 3.5 |
| 7 | San Francisco | 4,695.2 | 7 | 4,554.5 | 3.1 |
| 8 | Houston Bush | 4,347.7 | 8 | 4,231.0 | 2.8 |
| 9 | Washington Dulles | 3,360.0 | 9 | 3,216.8 | 4.5 |
| 10 | Dallas/Fort Worth | 3,189.9 | 10 | 2,893.2 | 10.3 |
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 International Market
* Includes U.S. carrier scheduled domestic and international service and foreign carrier scheduled international service to and from the United States. For U.S. domestic service data for 2013, see the BTS December air traffic press release https://www.bts.gov/newsroom/january-2014-airline-time-performance-down-previous-year-december
Note: Percentage changes based on numbers prior to rounding.