BTS 2-07
Contact:  Dave Smallen, Tel.:  (202) 366-5568
Thursday, January 11, 2007 

BTS Releases October 2006 Airline Traffic Data;
Ten-Month System Traffic Up 0.5 Percent From 2005 

U.S. airlines carried 623.4 million scheduled domestic and international passengers on their systems during the first 10 months of 2006, 0.5 percent more than they did during the same period in 2005, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) today reported in a release of preliminary data (Table 1). 

BTS, a part of DOT’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration, reported that the U.S. airlines carried 0.2 percent fewer domestic passengers and 5.7 percent more international passengers during the 10-month period in 2006 than during the same period in 2005 (Tables 7, 13). 

In October, the most recent month, U.S. airlines carried 61.5 million scheduled domestic and international passengers, 2.6 percent more than in October 2005 (Table 2).  The number of domestic passengers increased 2.2 percent in October from a year earlier and international passengers increased 6.4 percent (Tables 7, 13). 

U.S. carriers operated 8.8 million domestic and international flights during the first 10 months of 2006, 3.4 percent fewer than were operated during the same period in 2005 (Table 1).  Domestic fights were down 3.9 percent from the previous year while international flights were up 2.8 percent (Tables 7, 13). 

In October, U.S. airlines operated 890,300 scheduled domestic and international flights, down 0.5 percent from the number of flights operated in October 2005 (Table 1). The number of domestic flights declined 0.8 percent in October from a year earlier while international flights increased 3.3 percent (Tables 7, 13). 

America West Airlines and US Airways report traffic data separately because the carriers hold two operating certificates despite the merged business operations.  They will file a merged traffic report when they operate under a single certificate.  

System Comparisons (Table 1-6) 

In other total system comparisons from the first 10 months of 2005 to the first 10 months of 2006 and from October 2005 to October 2006 (Table 1): 

            Revenue passenger miles (RPMs), a measure of the number of passengers and the distance flown, were up 2.2 percent in the first 10 months.  In October, RPMs were up 3.7 percent. 

Available seat-miles (ASMs), a measure of airline capacity using the number of seats and the distance flown, were unchanged in the first 10 months.  In October, ASMs were up 2.1 percent.

Passenger load factor, passenger miles as a proportion of available seat-miles, was up 1.7 load factor points to 79.6 percent in the first 10 months.  In October, load factor was up 1.2 load factor points to 77.3 percent. 

Flight stage length, the average non-stop distance flown per departure, was up 2.9 percent in the first 10 months. In October, flight stage length was up 1.7 percent. 

Passenger trip length, the average distance flown per passenger, was up 1.7 percent in the first 10 months.  In October, passenger trip length was up 1.0 percent. 

Among U.S. airlines, American Airlines carried 82.4 million passengers on its system from January to October, the most of any airline (Table 3). In October, Southwest Airlines carried 8.1 million passengers on its system, the most of any airline and the third consecutive month in which Southwest has topped the list (Table 4). 

Among airports, Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International was the busiest U.S. airport from January to October, with 33.9 million domestic and international passenger boardings (Table 5).  In October, Hartsfield-Jackson was the busiest U.S. airport with 3.4 million domestic and international passenger boardings on U. S. carriers (Table 6).    

Domestic Air Travel (Tables 7-12) 

U.S. airlines carried 550.8 million scheduled domestic passengers during the first 10 months of 2006, down 0.2 percent from the 551.7 million carried during the same period in 2005 (Table 8). The passengers were carried on 8.1 million flights, down 3.9 percent from the 8.4 million flights operated in the first 10 months of 2005 (Table 7). 

In the most recent month, October, the airlines carried 54.9 million scheduled domestic passengers, up 2.2 percent from the 53.7 million carried during October 2005 (Table 8). The passengers were carried on 824,600 flights, down 0.8 percent from the 831,300 flights operated in October 2005 (Table 7). 

In other domestic comparisons from the first 10 months of 2005 to the first 10 months of 2006 and from October 2005 to October 2006 (Table 7):  

            Domestic revenue passenger miles (RPMs), a measure of the number of passengers and the distance flown, were up 0.8 percent in the first 10 months.  In October, domestic RPMs were up 2.4 percent.   

Domestic available seat-miles (ASMs), a measure of airline capacity using the number of seats and the distance flown, were down 1.9 percent in the first 10 months.  In October, domestic ASMs were up 0.4 percent. 

Domestic passenger load factor, passenger miles as a proportion of available seat-miles, was up 2.1 load factor points to 79.5 percent in the first 10 months.  In October, domestic load factor was up 1.5 load factor points to 77.5 percent.

Domestic flight stage length, the average non-stop distance flown per departure, was up 2.0 percent in the first 10 months.  In October, domestic flight stage length was up 0.7 percent. 

Domestic passenger trip length, the average distance flown per passenger, was up 0.9 percent in the first 10 months.  In October, domestic passenger trip length was up 0.2 percent. 

Southwest Airlines carried 80.3 million domestic passengers from January to October, the most of any airline (Table 9). In October, Southwest carried 8.1 million domestic passengers, the most of any airline (Table 10). 

Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson was the busiest domestic airport from January to October, with 31.0 million domestic passenger boardings (Table 11). In October, Hartsfield-Jackson was the busiest domestic airport with 3.2 million domestic passenger boardings (Table 12). 

International Air Travel (Tables 13-18) 

U.S. airlines carried 72.6 million scheduled international passengers during the first 10 months of 2006, up 5.7 percent from the 68.7 million carried during the same period in 2005 (Table 14). The passengers were carried on 714,100 flights, up 2.8 percent from the 694,600 flights operated in the first 10 months of 2005 (Table 13). 

In the most recent month, October, the airlines carried 6.6 million international passengers, up 6.4 percent from the 6.2 million carried during October 2005. The passengers were carried on 65,700 flights, up 3.3 percent from the 63,600 flights operated in October 2005 (Table 13). 

In other international comparisons from the first 10 months of 2005 to the first 10 months of 2006 and from October 2005 to October 2006 (Table 13): 

International revenue passenger miles (RPMs), a measure of the number of passengers and the distance flown, were up 6.0 percent in the first 10 months.  In October, international RPMs were up 7.3 percent. 

International available seat-miles (ASMs), a measure of airline capacity using the number of seats and the distance flown, were up 5.2 percent in the first 10 months.  In October, international ASMs were up 6.8 percent. 

International passenger load factor, passenger miles as a proportion of available seat-miles, was up 0.5 load factor points to 79.7 in the first 10 months.  In October, international load factor was up 0.3 load factor points to 76.6. 

International flight stage length, the average non-stop distance flown per departure, was up 2.7 percent in the first 10 months.  In October, international flight stage length was up 3.8 percent.

International passenger trip length, the average distance flown per passenger was up 0.3 percent in the first 10 months.  In October, international passenger trip length was up 0.8 percent. 

American Airlines carried 18.0 million international passengers from January to October, the most of any U.S. airline (Table 15). In October, American carried 1.6 million international passengers, the most of any U.S. airline (Table 16). 

Miami International was the busiest U.S. airport for international travel on U.S. carriers from January to October, with 3.7 million international passenger boardings (Table 17). In October, Miami International was the busiest international airport with 331,100 international passenger boardings (Table 18). 

Reporting Notes 

            Data are compiled from monthly reports filed with BTS by commercial air carriers detailing operations, passenger traffic and freight traffic. This release includes data received by BTS from 91 carriers as of Jan. 8 for U.S. carrier scheduled civilian operations. 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 http://www.bts.gov/programs/airline_information/air_carrier_traffic_statistics/. 

Additional traffic numbers are available on the BTS website at TranStats, the Intermodal Transportation Database, at http://transtats.bts.gov.  Click on “Aviation.”  For domestic and international passengers, RPMs and ASMs by carrier and carrier region through October, click on “Air Carrier Summary Data (Form 41 and 298C Summary Data),” and then click on “Schedule T-1.” 

For domestic numbers through October and international numbers through July by origin as well as by carrier and region, 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.  

TranStats system and international totals do not include U.S. carriers’ foreign point-to-point flights. For October, U.S. carriers reported 273,638 foreign point-to-point passengers. For January-to-October, U.S. carriers reported 3,062,782 foreign point-to-point passengers. 

Data are subject to revision.  Revised tables 15 and 16, Top 10 Airlines Ranked by International Enplanements for July, August and September, are available on the BTS website. As a result of data reprocessing, ExpressJet Airlines is now included in the top 10 in tables 15 and 16 for July and August and in table 15 for September.  See: http://www.bts.gov/press_releases/airline_traffic_data.html 

BTS has scheduled Feb. 15 for the release of November traffic data.

Table 1: Scheduled System (Domestic and International) Airline Travel on U.S. Carriers

	Monthly			Year-to-Date
	Oct 2005	Oct 2006	Change %	2005	2006	Change %
Passengers (in millions)	59.9	61.5	2.6	620.4	623.4	0.5
Flights (in thousands)	894.9	890.3	-0.5	9,128.6	8,822.0	-3.4
Revenue Passenger Miles(in billions)	62.6	64.9	3.7	655.3	669.5	2.2
Available Seat-Miles(in billions)	82.3	84.0	2.1	841.3	841.1	0.0
Load Factor*	76.1	77.3	1.2	77.9	79.6	1.7
Flight Stage Length**	679.4	691.0	1.7	678.3	697.7	2.9
Passenger Trip Length***	1,045.5	1,056.3	1.0	1,056.2	1,073.9	1.7

 Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Market and Segment

*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 2. Total System (Domestic and International) Scheduled Enplanements on U.S. Carriers
Passenger numbers in millions (000,000)

Month	2004	2005	2004-2005 Pct. Change	2006	2005-2006 Pct. Change
January	49.4	54.4	10.2	55.6	2.1
February	50.5	52.9	4.6	53.4	0.9
March	60.3	66.1	9.7	65.8	-0.4
April	59.2	61.6	4.0	63.2	2.6
May	59.1	64.2	8.6	64.5	0.4
June	63.6	67.1	5.5	67.2	0.1
July	67.1	70.6	5.2	69.5	-1.5
August	64.7	66.8	3.4	66.5	-0.5
September	53.3	56.8	6.5	56.3	-0.8
October	60.1	59.9	-0.3	61.5	2.6
November	57.4	58.7	2.2
December	59.0	59.5	0.9
Yr. Total	703.7	738.6	5.0
10 Mo. Total	587.3	620.4	5.6	623.4	0.5

 Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Market

Note: Percentage changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

  

Table 3. Top 10 U.S. Airlines, ranked by Jan.-October 2006 System* Scheduled Enplanements
Passenger numbers in millions (000,000)

Jan-Oct 2006 Rank	Carrier	Jan-Oct 2006 Enplaned Passengers	Jan-Oct  2005 Rank	Jan-Oct 2005 Enplaned Passengers
1	American	82.4	1	82.0
2	Southwest	80.3	2	73.7
3	Delta	61.7	3	73.4
4	United	58.4	4	55.8
5	Northwest	45.9	5	48.0
6	Continental	39.0	7	35.5
7	US Airways	30.5	6	36.1
8	America West	17.8	8	18.5
9	AirTran	16.6	12	13.7
10	SkyWest	16.3	11	13.7

 Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Market

* System equals domestic plus international

Note: Percentage changes based on numbers prior to rounding

 

Table 4. Top 10 U.S. Airlines, ranked by October 2006 System* Scheduled Enplanements
Passenger numbers in millions (000,000)

October 2006 Rank	Carrier	October 2006 Enplaned Passengers	October 2005 Rank	October 2005 Enplaned Passengers
1	Southwest	8.1	2	7.6
2	American	7.9	1	7.7
3	Delta	6.0	3	6.5
4	United	5.8	4	5.6
5	Northwest	4.6	5	4.4
6	Continental	3.8	6	3.5
7	US Airways	3.0	7	3.2
8	America West	1.7	8	1.8
9	SkyWest	1.7	10	1.5
10	American Eagle	1.6	9	1.6

 Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Market

* System equals domestic plus international

Note: Percentage changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

 

Table 5. Top 10 U.S. Airports, ranked by Jan.- October 2006 System* Scheduled Enplanements
Passenger numbers in millions (000,000)

Jan-Oct 2006 Rank	Airport	Jan-Oct 2006 Enplaned Passengers	Jan-Oct 2005 Rank	Jan-Oct 2005 Enplaned Passengers
1	Atlanta	33.9	1	35.0
2	Chicago O'Hare	29.0	2	28.8
3	Dallas - Fort Worth	23.6	3	23.0
4	Los Angeles International	19.3	4	19.2
5	Denver	19.1	5	17.2
6	Las Vegas	17.4	6	17.0
7	Phoenix	17.0	7	16.8
8	Houston Bush	16.5	8	15.2
9	Detroit Metro	14.4	10	14.6
10	Minneapolis - St Paul	14.3	9	15.0

 Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Market

* System equals domestic plus international

Note: Percentage changes based on numbers prior to rounding

 

Table 6. Top 10 U.S. Airports ranked by October 2006 System* Scheduled Enplanements
Passenger numbers in millions (000,000)

October 2006 Rank	Airport	October 2006 Enplaned Passengers	October 2005 Rank	October 2005 Enplaned Passengers
1	Atlanta	3.4	1	3.3
2	Chicago O'Hare	3.0	2	3.0
3	Dallas - Fort Worth	2.3	3	2.3
4	Denver	1.9	7	1.7
5	Los Angeles International	1.9	4	1.8
6	Las Vegas	1.8	5	1.8
7	Phoenix	1.7	6	1.7
8	Houston Bush	1.6	8	1.5
9	Detroit Metro	1.5	10	1.4
10	Minneapolis - St Paul	1.4	9	1.4

 Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Market

* System equals domestic plus international

Note: Percentage changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

 

Table 7: Domestic Scheduled Airline Travel on U.S. Carriers

	Monthly			Year-to-Date
	Oct 2005	Oct 2006	Change %	2005	2006	Change %
Passengers (in millions)	53.7	54.9	2.2	551.7	550.8	-0.2
Flights (in thousands)	831.3	824.6	-0.8	8,434.0	8,107.9	-3.9
Revenue Passenger Miles(in billions)	45.9	47.0	2.4	478.0	481.6	0.8
Available Seat-Miles(in billions)	60.4	60.6	0.4	617.3	605.5	-1.9
Load Factor*	76.0	77.5	1.5	77.4	79.5	2.1
Flight Stage Length**	603.0	607.4	0.7	602.7	614.7	2.0
Passenger Trip Length***	854.0	855.5	0.2	866.3	874.3	0.9

 Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Domestic Market and Segment

*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 8. Domestic Scheduled Enplanements on U.S. Carriers
Passenger numbers in millions (000,000)

Month	2004	2005	2004-2005 Pct. Change	2006	2005-2006 Pct. Change
January	43.8	48.0	9.5	48.9	1.8
February	45.3	47.1	3.9	47.4	0.6
March	54.2	58.8	8.7	58.3	-0.9
April	53.3	54.9	3.1	55.8	1.7
May	53.0	57.3	8.1	57.2	-0.3
June	57.0	59.7	4.9	59.3	-0.8
July	59.6	62.4	4.7	60.8	-2.5
August	57.4	59.1	3.0	58.3	-1.4
September	47.7	50.6	6.1	50.0	-1.3
October	54.2	53.7	-0.8	54.9	2.2
November	51.8	52.8	1.9
December	52.6	52.8	0.3
Yr.  Total	629.8	657.3	4.4
10 Mo. Total	525.4	551.7	5.0	550.8	-0.2

 Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Domestic Market

Note: Percentage changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

  

Table 9. Top 10 U.S. Airlines, ranked by Jan.- October 2006 Domestic Scheduled Enplanements
Passenger numbers in millions (000,000)

Jan-Oct 2006 Rank	Carrier	Jan-Oct 2006 Enplanements	Jan-Oct 2005 Rank	Jan-Oct 2005 Enplanements
1	Southwest	80.3	1	73.7
2	American	64.4	3	64.5
3	Delta	53.2	2	66.2
4	United	48.2	4	46.1
5	Northwest	37.7	5	39.7
6	Continental	29.7	7	27.2
7	US Airways	26.5	6	31.9
8	America West	16.8	8	17.5
9	AirTran	16.6	10	13.6
10	SkyWest	15.6	11	13.2

 Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Domestic Market

Note: Percentage changes based on numbers prior to rounding

 

Table 10. Top 10 U.S. Airlines, ranked by October 2006 Domestic Scheduled Enplanements
Passenger numbers in millions (000,000)

October 2006 Rank	Carrier	October 2006 Enplanements	October 2005 Rank	October 2005 Enplanements
1	Southwest	8.1	1	7.6
2	American	6.3	2	6.2
3	Delta	5.2	3	5.8
4	United	4.8	4	4.6
5	Northwest	3.8	5	3.6
6	Continental	3.0	7	2.8
7	US Airways	2.7	6	2.8
8	SkyWest	1.6	10	1.4
9	America West	1.6	8	1.7
10	AirTran	1.6	11	1.4

 Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Domestic Market

Note: Percentage changes based on numbers prior to rounding 

 

Table 11. Top 10 U.S. Airports, ranked by Jan.- October 2006 Domestic Scheduled Enplanements
Passenger numbers in millions (000,000)

Jan-Oct 2006 Rank	Airport	Jan-Oct 2006 Enplanements	Jan-Oct 2005 Rank	Jan-Oct 2005 Enplanements
1	Atlanta	31.0	1	32.6
2	Chicago O'Hare	26.2	2	26.2
3	Dallas - Fort Worth	21.8	3	21.2
4	Denver	18.6	6	16.8
5	Los Angeles International	17.8	4	17.8
6	Las Vegas	17.3	5	16.8
7	Phoenix	16.5	7	16.2
8	Houston Bush	14.1	10	13.0
9	Minneapolis - St Paul	13.3	8	14.0
10	Orlando	13.2	11	12.9

 Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Domestic Market
Note: Percentage changes based on numbers prior to rounding

 

Table 12. Top 10 U.S. Airports, ranked by October 2006 Domestic Scheduled Enplanements
Passenger numbers in millions (000,000)

October 2006 Rank	Airport	October 2006 Enplanements	October 2005 Rank	October 2005 Enplanements
1	Atlanta	3.2	1	3.1
2	Chicago O'Hare	2.7	2	2.7
3	Dallas - Fort Worth	2.2	3	2.1
4	Denver	1.8	6	1.6
5	Las Vegas	1.7	4	1.8
6	Los Angeles	1.7	5	1.7
7	Phoenix	1.6	7	1.6
8	Houston Bush	1.4	9	1.3
9	Detroit Metro	1.3	10	1.3
10	Minneapolis - St Paul	1.3	8	1.3

 Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Domestic Market

Note: Percentage changes based on numbers prior to rounding 

 

Table 13: International Scheduled Airline Travel on U.S. Carriers

	Monthly			Year-to-Date
	Oct 2005	Oct 2006	Change %	2005	2006	Change %
Passengers (in millions)	6.2	6.6	6.4	68.7	72.6	5.7
Flights (in thousands)	63.6	65.7	3.3	694.6	714.1	2.8
Revenue Passenger-Miles(in billions)	16.7	18.0	7.3	177.3	187.9	6.0
Available Seat-Miles(in billions)	21.9	23.4	6.8	223.9	235.6	5.2
Load Factor*	76.3	76.6	0.3	79.2	79.7	0.5
Flight Stage Length**	1,678.4	1,741.5	3.8	1,596.3	1,639.8	2.7
Passenger Trip Length***	2,717.2	2,739.8	0.8	2,581.9	2,588.4	0.3

 Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 International Market and Segment

*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 14. Total Industry International Scheduled Enplanements on U.S. Carriers
Passenger numbers in millions (000,000)

Month	2004	2005	2004-2005 Pct. Change	2006	2005-2006 Pct. Change
January	5.6	6.5	16.0	6.7	3.9
February	5.2	5.8	10.8	6.0	3.8
March	6.1	7.3	18.8	7.6	4.0
April	5.9	6.7	12.0	7.3	10.3
May	6.1	6.9	13.4	7.3	6.5
June	6.7	7.4	10.9	7.9	7.0
July	7.5	8.2	9.3	8.7	6.0
August	7.3	7.7	6.0	8.2	5.8
September	5.7	6.2	9.7	6.4	2.8
October	5.9	6.2	4.5	6.6	6.4
November	5.7	5.9	4.9
December	6.3	6.7	5.8
Yr. Total	73.9	81.3	10.1
10 Mo. Total	61.9	68.7	11.0	72.6	5.7

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 International Market
Note: Percentage changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

 

Table 15. Top 10 U.S. Airlines, ranked by Jan.- October 2006 International Scheduled Enplanements
Passenger numbers in millions (000,000)

Jan-Oct 2006 Rank	Carrier	Jan-Oct 2006 Enplanements	Jan-Oct 2005 Rank	Jan-Oct 2005 Enplanements
1	American	18.0	1	17.5
2	United	10.1	2	9.7
3	Continental	9.3	4	8.3
4	Delta	8.5	5	7.2
5	Northwest	8.2	3	8.4
6	US Airways	4.0	6	4.2
7	Alaska	1.8	7	1.7
8	ExpressJet	1.6	8	1.5
9	Executive	1.5	9	1.4
10	Continental Micronesia	1.0	10	1.1

 Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 International Market
Note: Percentage changes based on numbers prior to rounding

  

Table 16. Top 10 U.S. Airlines, ranked by October 2006 International Scheduled Enplanements
Passenger numbers in millions (000,000)

October 2006 Rank	Carrier	October 2006 Enplanements	October 2005 Rank	October 2005 Enplanements
1	American	1.6	1	1.5
2	United	1.0	2	1.0
3	Continental	0.8	4	0.7
4	Northwest	0.8	3	0.8
5	Delta	0.8	5	0.7
6	US Airways	0.3	6	0.3
7	ExpressJet	0.2	8	0.1
8	Alaska	0.2	7	0.2
9	Executive	0.1	9	0.1
10	Continental Micronesia	0.1	10	0.1

 Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 International Market

Note: Percentage changes based on numbers prior to rounding