BTS Releases March Airline Traffic Data; March 2004 Domestic Traffic Up 7.4 Percent From March 2003
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Thursday, June 10, 2004 - The U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) today reported, in a release of preliminary data, that
These passengers were carried on 814,340 flights, up 1.0 percent from the flights operated in March 2003.
In other domestic comparisons from March 2003 to March 2004:
Revenue passenger miles, a measure of the number of passengers and the distance flown, were up 11.3 percent.
Available seat-miles, a measure of airline capacity, were up 7.3 percent.
Load factor, a measure of how many seats are sold and used, was up 2.7 percentage points.
Flight stage length, the average non-stop distance, was up 6.4 percent.
Passenger trip length, the average distance passengers travel, was up 3.7 percent.
The number of domestic airline passengers rose 19.5 percent in March from February (Table 2). Month-to-month comparisons may be affected by seasonal factors.
Among airlines, Southwest Airlines carried 7.1 million domestic passengers in March, the most of any airline (Table 3).
Among airports, Hartsfield-Jackson International in Atlanta continued in March to be the busiest domestic airport, with 3.3 million passenger boardings (Table 4).
Table 1: Domestic Airline Travel in March
| March 2003 | March 2004 | |
|---|---|---|
| Passengers | 50,475,121 | 54,187,141 |
| Flights | 806,156 | 814,340 |
| Revenue Passenger Miles(000) | 42,151,234 | 46,915,144 |
| Available Seat-Miles(000) | 58,093,721 | 62,337,697 |
| Load factor | 72.6% | 75.3% |
| Flight stage length | 579 | 616 |
| Passenger trip length | 835 | 866 |
Source: T-100 Domestic Market and Segment
Table 2. Total Industry Domestic Enplanements
| Month | 2003 | 2004 |
|---|---|---|
| January | 43,436,152 | 44,075,101 |
| February | 41,529,610 | 45,354,410 |
| March | 50,475,121 | 54,187,141 |
| April | 47,559,030 | |
| May | 49,587,365 | |
| June | 52,701,395 | |
| July | 56,221,859 | |
| August | 54,390,922 | |
| September | 44,393,824 | |
| October | 50,338,674 | |
| November | 47,414,333 | |
| December | 49,866,108 |
Source: T-100 Domestic Market
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."
Table 3. Top 10 Airlines, ranked by March 2004 Domestic Enplanements
| Rank | Airline Name | March 2003 | February 2004 | March 2004 | March 2003 Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southwest Airlines | 6,332,410 | 5,749,214 | 7,089,890 | 2 |
| 2 | Delta Air Lines | 6,974,199 | 5,947,669 | 6,947,233 | 1 |
| 3 | American Airlines | 6,310,554 | 5,495,032 | 6,425,910 | 3 |
| 4 | United Airlines | 4,844,612 | 4,197,443 | 5,029,770 | 4 |
| 5 | Northwest Airlines | 3,907,410 | 3,207,660 | 4,021,053 | 5 |
| 6 | US Airways | 3,321,963 | 2,796,944 | 3,335,691 | 6 |
| 7 | Continental Airlines | 2,686,997 | 2,301,375 | 2,762,806 | 7 |
| 8 | |
1,668,638 | 1,468,971 | 1,710,680 | 8 |
| 9 | American Eagle Airlines | 1,027,069 | 1,006,408 | 1,166,685 | 9 |
| 10 | Alaska Airlines | 1,000,331 | 967,184 | 1,159,678 | 10 |
Source: T-100 Domestic Market
Table 4. Top 10 Airports ranked by March 2004 Domestic Enplanements
| Rank | Airport Name | March 2003 | February 2004 | March 2004 | March 2003 Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hartsfield-Jackson International | 3,054,374 | 2,781,748 | 3,298,313 | 1 |
| 2 | O'Hare International | 2,455,423 | 2,198,605 | 2,636,935 | 2 |
| 3 | Dallas-Ft Worth International | 1,963,457 | 1,882,726 | 2,234,246 | 3 |
| 4 | Los Angeles International | 1,597,838 | 1,475,487 | 1,778,219 | 5 |
| 5 | Denver International | 1,440,468 | 1,370,390 | 1,706,754 | 7 |
| 6 | Las Vegas McCarran International | 1,453,968 | 1,417,709 | 1,697,882 | 6 |
| 7 | Phoenix Sky Harbor International | 1,627,821 | 1,400,353 | 1,687,051 | 4 |
| 8 | Minneapolis-St. Paul International | 1,338,082 | 1,145,093 | 1,425,752 | 8 |
| 9 | Orlando International | 1,167,943 | 1,164,245 | 1,351,561 | 10 |
| 10 | Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County | 1,205,713 | 1,069,843 | 1,304,539 | 9 |
Source: 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 2004 traffic data are preliminary and include data received by BTS from 101 airlines as of June 8. Data are subject to revision.
Revised data from February and previous months are posted on the BTS website at http://transtats.bts.gov. BTS will release April traffic data on July 15.