March Airline Traffic Data: First Quarter Domestic Traffic Up 6.6 Percent From 2004

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Contact BTS 26-05 Dave Smallen 202-366-5568

Thursday, June 16, 2005 - U.S. airlines carried 6.6 percent more domestic passengers and flew 1.1 percent more domestic flights during the first three 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, reported that the airlines carried 153.9 million domestic passengers during the first three months of 2005, up from the 144.4 million carried between January and March 2004 (Table 2). The passengers were carried on 2.43 million flights, up 1.1 percent from the 2.40 million flights operated in 2004 (Table 1).

In other domestic comparisons from the first three months of 2004 to the first three months of 2005:

Revenue passenger miles, a measure of the number of passengers and the distance flown, were up 6.5 percent.

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

Load factor, a measure of how many seats are sold and used, was up 3.9 percentage points.

Flight stage length, the average non-stop distance flown per departure, was up 1.0 percent.

Passenger trip length, the average distance flown per passenger, was unchanged at 863 miles per trip.

Among airlines, Southwest Airlines carried 19.8 million domestic passengers during the first three months of 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 the first three months of 2005, with 9.3 million passenger boardings (Table 4).

March 2005 Airline Traffic

For the month of March 2005, U.S. airlines carried 58.5 million domestic passengers, 7.2 percent more than in March 2004 (Table 5).

These passengers were carried on 860,226 flights, up 2.1 percent from the flights operated in March 2004.

In other month-to-month domestic comparisons from March 2004 to March 2005:

Revenue passenger miles, a measure of the number of passengers and the distance flown, were up 7.5 percent.

Available seat-miles, a measure of airline capacity, were up 1.6 percent.

Load factor, a measure of how many seats are sold and used, was up 4.3 percentage points.

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

Passenger trip length, the average distance flown per passenger, was up 0.2 percent.

Among airlines, Southwest Airlines carried 7.7 million domestic passengers during March, the most of any airline (Table 6).

Among airports, Hartsfield-Jackson International in Atlanta was the busiest U.S. airport for domestic travel during March, with 3.6 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.  March traffic data are preliminary and include data received by BTS from 101 airlines as of June 14.  March numbers do not include Spirit Airlines.  Data are subject to revision.

Revised data from February 2005 and previous months are posted on the BTS website at http://transtats.bts.gov.  BTS will release April traffic data and revised data from March and previous months on July 14. 

Table 1: Domestic Airline Travel January to March

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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

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

Table 3: Top 10 Airlines, ranked by January-March 2005 Domestic Enplanements

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

Table 4: Top 10 Airports ranked by January-March 2004 Domestic Enplanements

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

Table 5: Domestic Airline Travel in March

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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 March 2005 Domestic Enplanements

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

Table 7: Top 10 Airports ranked by March 2005 Domestic Enplanements

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