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June 2005 Airline Traffic: Six-Month Domestic Traffic Up 5.4 Percent From 2004
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BTS 40-05
Dave Smallen
202-366-5568 |
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Thursday, September 15, 2005 - U.S. airlines carried 5.4 percent more domestic passengers and flew 0.8 percent more domestic flights during the first six months of 2005 than they did during the same period in 2004, 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 (RITA), reported that the airlines carried 325.8 million domestic passengers during the first six months of 2005, up from the 309.0 million carried between January and June 2004 (Table 2). The passengers were carried on 4.96 million flights, up 0.8 percent from the 4.92 million flights operated in 2004 (Table 1).
In other domestic comparisons from the first six months of 2004 to the first six months of 2005:
Revenue passenger miles, a measure of the number of passengers and the distance flown, were up 5.7 percent.
Available seat-miles, a measure of airline capacity, were up 1.8 percent.
Passenger load factor, passengers carried as a proportion of available seats, was up 2.9 load factor points.
Flight stage length, the average non-stop distance flown per departure, was up 2.0 percent.
Passenger trip length, the average distance flown per passenger, was up 0.3 percent at 866 miles per trip.
Among airlines, Southwest Airlines carried 42.6 million domestic passengers during the first six months of 2005, the most of any airline (Table 3).
Among airports, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport was the busiest U.S. airport for domestic travel during the first six months of 2005, with 19.7 million passenger boardings (Table 4).
June 2005 Airline Traffic
For the month of June 2005, U.S. airlines carried 59.6 million domestic passengers, 4.0 percent more than in June 2004 (Table 5).
These passengers were carried on 844,557 flights, down 0.3 percent from the flights operated in June 2004.
In other month-to-month domestic comparisons from June 2004 to June 2005:
Revenue passenger miles, a measure of the number of passengers and the distance flown, were up 4.5 percent.
Available seat-miles, a measure of airline capacity, were up 2.5 percent.
Passenger load factor, passengers carried as a proportion of available seats, was up 1.6 load factor points.
Flight stage length, the average non-stop distance flown per departure, was up 3.6 percent.
Passenger trip length, the average distance flown per passenger, was up 0.5 percent.
Among airlines, Southwest Airlines carried 7.9 million domestic passengers during June, the most of any airline (Table 6).
Among airports, Hartsfield-Jackson International in Atlanta was the busiest U.S. airport for domestic travel during June, with 3.5 million passenger boardings (Table 7).
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 on "Air Carrier Statistics (Form 41 Traffic)," then click on "T-100 Domestic Market."
Data are compiled from monthly reports filed with BTS by commercial air carriers detailing operations, passenger traffic and freight traffic. June traffic data are preliminary and include data received by BTS from 122 airlines as of Sept. 13. Data are subject to revision.
Revised data from May 2005 and previous months are posted on the BTS website at http://transtats.bts.gov. BTS will release July traffic data and revised data from June and previous months on Oct. 14.
Table 1: Domestic Airline Travel January to June
Excel | CSV
Passengers |
308,962,620 |
325,773,837 |
5.4% |
Flights |
4,920,146 |
4,961,026 |
0.8% |
Revenue Passenger Miles(000) |
266,943,416 |
282,260,343 |
5.7% |
Available Seat Miles(000) |
362,756,052 |
369,207,477 |
1.8% |
Load Factor |
73.6 |
76.5 |
2.9 points |
Flight Stage Length* |
598 |
609 |
2.0% |
Passenger Trip Length** |
864 |
866 |
0.3% |
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Domestic Market and Segment
* The average non-stop distance flown per departure in miles
** The average distance flown per passenger in miles
Table 2: Total Industry Domestic Enplanements
Excel | CSV
January |
43,349,913 |
44,200,845 |
48,107,314 |
8.8 |
February |
41,465,820 |
45,704,392 |
47,222,928 |
3.3 |
March |
50,387,895 |
54,620,647 |
59,012,881 |
8.0 |
April |
47,364,607 |
53,705,969 |
54,750,338 |
1.9 |
May |
49,413,135 |
53,385,405 |
57,053,059 |
6.9 |
June |
52,541,294 |
57,345,362 |
59,627,317 |
4.0 |
July |
56,144,204 |
60,061,903 |
|
|
August |
54,320,946 |
57,726,560 |
|
|
September |
44,575,720 |
47,905,621 |
|
|
October |
50,347,370 |
54,476,730 |
|
|
November |
47,456,128 |
51,945,559 |
|
|
December |
50,132,111 |
52,798,835 |
|
|
Annual Total |
587,499,143 |
633,877,828 |
|
|
Jan.-June Total |
284,522,664 |
308,962,620 |
325,773,837 |
5.4 |
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Domestic Market
Table 3: Top 10 Airlines, ranked by January-June 2005 Domestic Enplanements
Excel | CSV
1 |
Southwest Airlines |
42,585,282 |
1 |
39,842,391 |
2 |
Delta Air Lines |
40,522,989 |
2 |
39,414,562 |
3 |
American Airlines |
38,281,189 |
3 |
36,210,392 |
4 |
United Airlines |
27,053,257 |
4 |
29,129,969 |
5 |
Northwest Airlines |
23,723,724 |
5 |
22,247,359 |
6 |
US Airways |
19,790,389 |
6 |
18,709,014 |
7 |
Continental Airlines |
16,165,926 |
7 |
15,514,869 |
8 |
America West Airlines |
10,284,466 |
8 |
9,752,089 |
9 |
American Eagle Airlines |
8,094,199 |
9 |
6,755,229 |
10 |
AirTran Airways |
7,788,322 |
11 |
6,344,422 |
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Domestic Market
Table 4: Top 10 Airports ranked by January-June 2005 Domestic Enplanements
Excel | CSV
1 |
Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson |
19,708,578 |
1 |
18,688,734 |
2 |
Chicago O'Hare |
15,169,655 |
2 |
14,935,445 |
3 |
Dallas-Fort Worth |
12,469,950 |
3 |
12,704,623 |
4 |
Los Angeles Int'l |
10,341,091 |
4 |
10,310,292 |
5 |
Las Vegas McCarran |
10,103,003 |
6 |
9,500,039 |
6 |
Phoenix Sky Harbor |
9,735,316 |
7 |
9,237,353 |
7 |
Denver |
9,677,754 |
5 |
9,540,492 |
8 |
Minneapolis-St.Paul |
8,211,242 |
8 |
7,813,868 |
9 |
Orlando |
8,093,521 |
9 |
7,441,389 |
10 |
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County |
7,782,790 |
10 |
7,336,614 |
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Domestic Market
Table 5: Domestic Airline Travel in June
Excel | CSV
Passengers |
57,345,362 |
59,627,317 |
4.0% |
Flights |
847,392 |
844,557 |
-0.3% |
Revenue Passenger Miles(000) |
50,194,850 |
52,439,242 |
4.5% |
Available Seat Miles(000) |
62,193,066 |
63,721,781 |
2.5% |
Load Factor |
80.7 |
82.3 |
1.6 points |
Flight Stage Length* |
596 |
617 |
3.6% |
Passenger Trip Length** |
875 |
879 |
0.5% |
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Domestic Market and Segment
* The average non-stop distance flown per departure in miles
** The average distance flown per passenger in miles
Table 6: Top 10 Airlines, ranked by June 2005 Domestic Enplanements
Excel | CSV
1 |
Southwest Airlines |
7,881,932 |
1 |
7,376,924 |
2 |
American Airlines |
7,070,922 |
3 |
6,520,999 |
3 |
Delta Air Lines |
7,056,723 |
2 |
7,230,138 |
4 |
United Airlines |
5,052,857 |
4 |
5,604,549 |
5 |
Northwest Airlines |
4,424,549 |
5 |
4,281,734 |
6 |
US Airways |
3,448,546 |
6 |
3,322,300 |
7 |
Continental Air Lines |
2,897,037 |
7 |
2,822,954 |
8 |
America West Airlines |
1,855,866 |
8 |
1,781,286 |
9 |
American Eagle Airlines |
1,526,166 |
10 |
1,275,621 |
10 |
AirTran Airways |
1,512,605 |
11 |
1,153,832 |
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Domestic Market
Table 7: Top 10 Airports ranked by June 2005 Domestic Enplanements
Excel | CSV
1 |
Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson |
3,525,039 |
1 |
3,392,852 |
2 |
Chicago O'Hare |
2,883,290 |
2 |
2,894,226 |
3 |
Dallas-Fort Worth |
2,331,870 |
3 |
2,338,124 |
4 |
Los Angeles Int'l |
1,939,837 |
4 |
1,947,382 |
5 |
Denver |
1,881,441 |
5 |
1,845,687 |
6 |
Las Vegas McCarran |
1,773,389 |
6 |
1,653,077 |
7 |
Phoenix Sky Harbor |
1,705,447 |
7 |
1,620,391 |
8 |
Minneapolis-St.Paul |
1,581,668 |
8 |
1,529,625 |
9 |
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County |
1,433,109 |
9 |
1,390,424 |
10 |
Houston Bush Intercontinental |
1,421,605 |
10 |
1,270,335 |
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Domestic Market
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