BTS 21-05
Contact:  Dave Smallen, Tel.:  (202) 366-5568
Monday, May 16, 2005

BTS Releases February Domestic Airline Traffic Data;
February 2005 Domestic Traffic Up 3.4 Percent From February 2004 

U.S. airlines carried 3.4 percent more domestic passengers but flew 0.8 percent fewer domestic flights during February 2005 than they did during February 2004, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported today, in a release of preliminary data (Table 1). 

BTS, a part of DOT’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration, reported that the airlines carried 47.2 million domestic passengers during February 2005, up from the 45.7 million in February 2004 (Table 2). These passengers were carried on 761,835 flights, down 0.8 percent from the 768,316 flights operated in February 2004 (Table 1). 

Since February 2004 consisted of 29 days and February 2005 had 28 days, all comparisons result in smaller increases than if they were based on average daily travel. 

In other domestic comparisons from February 2004 to February 2005 (Table 1): 

            Revenue passenger miles, a measure of the number of passengers and the distance flown, were up 3.2 percent. 

            Available seat-miles, a measure of airline capacity, were down 0.9 percent. 

            Load factor, the percentage of airline seating capacity used by revenue passengers, was up by 2.9 percentage points. 

            Flight stage length, the average non-stop distance, was up 1.1 percent. 

            Passenger trip length, the average distance passengers travel, was down 0.2 percent. 

            Among airlines, Southwest Airlines carried 6.1 million domestic passengers during February 2005, the most of any airline (Table 3).

Among airports, Hartsfield-Jackson International in Atlanta was the busiest U.S. airport for domestic travel during February 2005, with 2.9 million passenger boardings (Table 4). 

            Additional airline traffic data can be found on the BTS website at TranStats, the Intermodal Transportation Database at http://transtats.bts.gov.  Click on “Aviation,” then “Air Carrier Statistics (Form 41 Traffic),” then “T-100 Domestic Market.” 

Data are compiled from monthly reports filed with BTS by commercial air carriers detailing operations, passenger traffic and freight traffic.  February traffic data are preliminary and include data received by BTS from 102 airlines as of May 10.  Data are subject to revision.           

            Revised data from January 2005 and previous months are posted on the BTS website at http://transtats.bts.gov.  BTS will release March 2005 traffic data on June 16. 
 

Table 1: Domestic Airline Travel in February*

	Feb. 2004	Feb. 2005	Change
Passengers	45,660,443	47,220,297	3.4%
Flights	768,316	761,835	-0.8%
Revenue Passenger Miles(000)	39,046,303	40,308,337	3.2%
Available Seat Miles(000)	56,822,674	56,316,513	-0.9%
Load Factor	68.7	71.6	2.9 points
Flight Stage Length	599	606	1.1%
Passenger Trip Length	855	854	-0.2%

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

* February consisted of 29 days in 2004 and 28 days in 2005.

 

Table 2. Total Industry Domestic Enplanements

Month	2003	2004	2005	2004-2005 Pct. Change
January	43,340,260	44,158,365	48,143,817	9.0%
February	41,464,697	45,660,443	47,220,297	3.4%
March	50,387,437	54,564,077
April	47,364,281	53,653,708
May	49,413,135	53,338,386
June	52,541,086	57,289,410
July	56,144,204	59,997,802
August	54,320,569	57,724,502
September	44,575,000	47,899,897
October	50,346,823	54,473,796
November	47,455,664	51,904,086
December	50,126,985	52,768,872
Jan.-Feb. Total	84,804,957	89,818,808	95,364,114	6.2%
Annual Total	587,480,141	633,435,348

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

 

Table 3. Top 10 Airlines, ranked by February 2005 Domestic Enplanements

Feb.2005 Rank	Carrier	Feb. 2005 Enplanements	Feb.2004 Rank	Feb. 2004 Enplanements
1	Southwest Airlines	6,081,794	2	5,749,214
2	Delta Air Lines	6,041,572	1	5,947,669
3	American Airlines	5,475,154	3	5,495,032
4	United Airlines	3,907,296	4	4,197,443
5	Northwest Airlines	3,388,500	5	3,207,660
6	US Airways	2,927,688	6	2,796,944
7	Continental Airlines	2,318,987	7	2,301,375
8	America West Airlines	1,466,210	8	1,468,971
9	American Eagle Airlines	1,158,342	9	1,006,408
10	SkyWest Airlines	1,114,296	12	918,200

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