BTS 16-18

Thursday, March 22, 2018

BTS Contact: Dave Smallen

Tel: 202-366-5568

david.smallen@dot.gov

 

BTS Statistics Release: 2017 Traffic Data for U.S Airlines and Foreign Airlines U.S. Flights

 

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 an all-time high of 965.0 million systemwide (domestic and international) scheduled service passengers in 2017, 3.4 percent more than the previous record high of 933.1 million reached in 2016. The systemwide increase was the result of a 3.0 percent rise from 2016 in the number of passengers on domestic flights (741.6 million passengers in 2017) and 4.8 percent growth from 2016 in passengers on U.S. and foreign airlines’ flights to and from the U.S. (223.4 million passengers in 2017) (Tables 1, 1A, 5).

 

 

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

 

 

U.S. airlines carried 3.0 percent more passengers on domestic flights and 3.5 percent more passengers on international flights in 2017 than in 2016 for a systemwide increase of 3.1 percent. Foreign airlines carried 6.1 percent more passengers to and from the United States than in 2016. The 223.4 million passengers on international flights to and from the United States was a record high, exceeding the previous high set in 2016 (Tables 1A, 1B, 5).

 

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 United States. BTS regular monthly air traffic releases include data on U.S. carrier scheduled service only. For U.S. domestic service data for 2017, see the BTS December Air Traffic press release.

 

Airlines with Most Passengers in 2017

Southwest Airlines carried more total system passengers in 2017 than any other U.S. airline. American Airlines carried more passengers on international flights to and from the U.S. in 2017 than any other U.S. or foreign carrier. British Airways carried the most passengers on flights to and from the U.S. of any foreign airline (Tables 3 and 7).

 

U.S. Airports with Most Passengers in 2017

More total system passengers boarded planes in 2017 at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International than at any other U.S. airport. More passengers boarded international flights at New York John F. Kennedy than at any other U.S. airport (Tables 4 and 8).

 

Load Factor and Capacity

From 2016 to 2017, systemwide demand, measured in Revenue Passenger-Miles, (RPMs and capacity, measured in Available Seat-Miles (ASMs), both grew by 4.4 percent. As a result, load factor, which measures the use of capacity, was virtually unchanged (Table 1). 

 

Demand on international flights, measured in RPMs, rose 5.2 percent, slightly more than the growth of 5.1 percent in capacity measured in ASMs. The result was a rise of 0.1 points in the international load factor to 80.6 from 80.5 in 2016 (Table 5).

 

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 215 carriers as of March 13 for U.S. and foreign carrier scheduled civilian operations.

 

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 passengers, flights, RPMs, ASMs and other data, including non-scheduled service, go to https://www.transtats.bts.gov/TRAFFIC/. 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 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.

 

International totals and results for foreign carriers may differ from the press release until the next database update scheduled for April 12. Also, the T-100 web tables do not include U.S. carrier foreign point-to-point operations. For 2017, U.S. carriers reported 634,555 foreign point-to-point passengers. Complete international data for the full year 2017 will be released on June 14.

 

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

 

 

Table 1. Travel on U.S. Carriers and on Foreign Carriers' U.S. Flights*

	Monthly			Annual
	Dec 2016	Dec 2017	Pct. Change	2016	2017	Pct. Change
Passengers (in millions)	77.3	79.7	3.2	933.1	965.0	3.4
Flights (in thousands)	795.0	797.5	0.3	9,726.5	9,755.8	0.3
Revenue Passenger-Miles (in billions)	114.4	117.6	2.9	1,374.7	1,435.8	4.4
Available Seat-Miles (in billions)	139.4	144.0	3.3	1,667.8	1,741.1	4.4
Load Factor*	82.0	81.7	-0.3	82.4	82.5	0.0
Flight Stage Length**	983.4	1,001.6	1.8	963.8	984.4	2.1
Passenger Trip Length***	1,480.5	1,476.0	-0.3	1,473.3	1,487.9	1.0

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. carrier domestic and international service data for 2017, see the BTS December Air Traffic press release.

** Change in load factor points

***The average non-stop distance flown per departure in miles

**** The average distance flown per passenger in miles

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

 

 

Table 1A. Annual Enplanements on U.S. Carriers and on Foreign Carriers' U.S. Flights 2016-2017

Passenger numbers in millions (000,000)

		2016	2017	Change %
U.S. Carrier	Domestic	720.0	741.6	3.0
	International	104.0	107.7	3.5
	System	824.0	849.3	3.1
Foreign Carrier	To and From U.S.	109.1	115.7	6.1
Total		933.1	965.0	3.4

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Market

 

 

Table 1B. 2017 Passengers on U.S. and Foreign Airlines by Origin and Destination

Passenger numbers in millions (000,000)

		Destination
		Domestic		Foreign
Origin	Domestic	Domestic carriers	741.6	Domestic carriers	53.5
		Foreign Carriers	N/A	Foreign Carriers	57.6
	Foreign	Domestic carriers	53.5	Domestic carriers	0.6
		Foreign Carriers	58.2	Foreign Carriers*	N/A

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Market (All Carriers)

* Foreign carriers do not report to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics on flights without a U.S. origin or destination

 

 

Table 2. Monthly Enplanements on U.S. Carriers and on Foreign Carriers' U.S. Flights*

Passenger numbers in millions (000,000)

	2015	2016	2017	2015-2016 Pct. Change	2016-2017 Pct. Change
January	65.3	69.1	71.7	5.8	3.7
February	60.6	65.6	65.8	8.3	0.3
March	76.0	79.1	81.9	4.0	3.6
April	73.8	75.6	79.9	2.4	5.6
May	77.5	80.7	83.4	4.2	3.3
June	80.1	84.3	87.5	5.2	3.8
July	85.5	87.7	91.1	2.6	4.0
August	82.8	84.3	88.7	1.8	5.3
September	72.2	75.9	74.6	5.1	-1.6
October	77.2	78.7	82.3	2.0	4.5
November	72.1	75.0	78.4	4.0	4.6
December	74.9	77.3	79.7	3.2	3.2
Yr. Total	897.9	933.1	965.0	3.9	3.4

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. carrier domestic and international service data for 2017, see the BTS December Air Traffic press release.

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

 

 

Table 3. Airlines Ranked by U.S.-Based 2017 Scheduled Domestic and International Enplanements*

Passenger numbers in millions (000,000)

2017 Rank	Carrier	2017 Enplaned Passengers	2016 Rank	2016 Enplaned Passengers	Pct. Change 2016-2017
1	Southwest	157.677	1	151.740	3.9
2	Delta	145.647	3	143.076	1.8
3	American	144.864	2	144.191	0.5
4	United	107.243	4	100.119	7.1
5	JetBlue	40.015	5	38.241	4.6
6	SkyWest	35.776	6	31.203	14.7
7	Alaska	26.067	7	24.371	7.0
8	Spirit	23.813	9	20.998	13.4
9	Republic	16.932	12	12.575	34.6
10	Frontier	16.800	10	14.773	13.7

 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. carrier domestic and international service data for 2017, see the BTS December Air Traffic press release.

Note: Percentage changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

  

 

Table 4. U.S. Airports ranked by 2017 Scheduled Domestic and International Enplanements on U.S. and Foreign Airlines*

Passenger numbers in millions (000,000)

2017 Rank	Airport	2017 Enplaned Passengers	2016 Rank	2016 Enplaned Passengers	Pct. Change 2016-2017
1	Atlanta	50.223	1	50.481	-0.5
2	Los Angeles	41.196	2	39.606	4.0
3	Chicago O'Hare	38.509	3	37.497	2.7
4	Dallas/Fort Worth	31.794	4	31.260	1.7
5	Denver	29.787	6	28.243	5.5
6	New York JFK	29.463	5	29.146	1.1
7	San Francisco	26.885	7	25.698	4.6
8	Las Vegas	23.150	8	22.616	2.4
9	Seattle	22.599	9	21.848	3.4
10	Charlotte	21.994	10	21.496	2.3

 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. carrier domestic and international service data for 2017, see the BTS December Air Traffic press release.

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

 

 

Table 5. International Travel on U.S. Carriers and on Foreign Carriers' U.S. Flights*

	Monthly			Annual
	Dec 2016	Dec 2017	Pct. Change	2016	2017	Pct. Change
Passengers (in millions)	18.1	18.5	2.1	213.1	223.4	4.8
Flights (in thousands)	132.7	133.6	0.7	1,541.0	1,582.6	2.7
Revenue Passenger Miles (in billions)	59.5	60.7	1.9	714.3	751.6	5.2
Available Seat-Miles (in billions)	73.6	75.8	2.9	886.9	932.1	5.1
Load Factor*	80.8	80.1	-0.7	80.5	80.6	0.1
Flight Stage Length**	2,303.7	2,344.9	1.8	2,369.7	2,400.0	1.3
Passenger Trip Length***	3,291.2	3,285.3	-0.2	3,351.2	3,364.2	0.4

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 International 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. carrier domestic and international service data for 2017, see the BTS December Air Traffic press release.

** Change in load factor points                                                                                                                                       

*** The average non-stop distance flown per departure in miles

**** The average distance flown per passenger in miles

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

 

 

Table 6. Monthly International Enplanements on U.S. Carriers and on Foreign Carriers' U.S. Flights*

Passenger numbers in millions (000,000)

	2015	2016	2017	2015-2016 Pct. Change	2016-2017 Pct. Change
January	15.6	16.6	17.5	6.5	5.7
February	13.4	14.5	14.8	8.2	1.6
March	16.5	17.5	18.0	6.3	2.7
April	16.1	16.7	18.8	3.6	12.3
May	17.2	18.0	18.9	4.4	5.3
June	18.3	19.5	20.7	6.5	6.3
July	20.3	21.5	22.6	6.0	4.8
August	20.0	20.8	22.1	3.6	6.3
September	16.2	17.3	17.5	6.4	1.3
October	16.3	17.0	17.7	4.3	3.9
November	15.0	15.7	16.5	5.1	5.1
December	17.0	18.1	18.5	6.5	2.1
Yr. Total	201.9	213.1	223.4	5.6	4.8

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. carrier domestic and international service data for 2017, see the BTS December Air Traffic press release.

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

 

 

Table 7. Airlines Ranked by 2017 International Scheduled Enplanements to and from the U.S.*

Passenger numbers in thousands (000)

2017 Rank	Carrier	2017 Enplaned Passengers	2016 Rank	2016 Enplaned Passengers	Pct. Change 2016-2017
1	American	28,392.1	1	27,565.0	3.0
2	United	26,808.3	2	26,338.9	1.8
3	Delta	24,911.9	3	24,078.4	3.5
4	JetBlue	7,621.0	5	7,018.4	8.6
5	British Air	7,072.6	4	7,161.3	-1.2
6	Lufthansa	5,920.8	6	5,695.1	4.0
7	WestJet	5,036.1	7	4,580.5	9.9
8	Air Canada	4,908.8	8	4,317.0	13.7
9	Southwest	3,868.2	14	2,919.8	32.5
10	Air France	3,767.4	10	3,508.3	7.4

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. carrier domestic and international service data for 2017, see the BTS December Air Traffic press release.

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

 

 

Table 8. U.S. Airports Ranked by 2017 International Scheduled Enplanements on U.S. Carriers and on Foreign Carriers' U.S. Flights *

Passenger numbers in thousands (000)

2017 Rank	Airport	2017 Enplaned Passengers	2016 Rank	2016 Enplaned Passengers	Pct. Change 2016-2017
1	New York JFK	16,031.9	1	15,644.0	2.5
2	Los Angeles	12,053.7	2	11,097.1	8.6
3	Miami	10,146.3	3	9,949.2	2.0
4	San Francisco	6,448.1	4	6,022.3	7.1
5	Chicago O'Hare	6,372.6	5	5,919.6	7.7
6	Newark	6,256.4	6	5,915.3	5.8
7	Atlanta	5,872.0	7	5,576.2	5.3
8	Houston Bush	5,048.8	8	5,267.1	-4.1
9	Dallas/Fort Worth	4,064.6	9	3,885.4	4.6
10	Washington Dulles	3,743.2	10	3,581.9	4.5

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. carrier domestic and international service data for 2017, see the BTS December Air Traffic press release.

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.