BTS 28-04                                                                  
Contact: Dave Smallen, Tel.: 202-366-5568
Thursday, Oct. 14, 2004 

BTS Releases July Airline Traffic Data;
Seven-Month Domestic Traffic Up 7.9 Percent From 2003 

U.S. airlines carried 7.9 percent more domestic passengers and flew 3.5 percent more domestic flights during the first seven months of this year than they did during the same period last year, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) today reported, in a release of preliminary data (Table 1). 

The airlines carried 367.8 million domestic passengers during the first seven months of 2004, up from the 340.9 million in 2003. These passengers were carried on 5.7 million flights, up 3.5 percent from the flights operated in 2003 (Table 2). 

In other domestic comparisons from the first seven months of 2003 to the first seven months of 2004: 

            Revenue passenger miles, a measure of the number of passengers and the distance flown, were up 11.0 percent. 

            Available seat-miles, a measure of airline capacity, were up 8.5 percent. 

            Load factor, a measure of how many seats are sold and used, was up 1.7 percentage points. 

            Flight stage length, the average non-stop distance, was up 5.4 percent. 

            Passenger trip length, the average distance passengers travel, was up 3.0 percent. 

            Among airlines, Southwest Airlines carried 47.5 million domestic passengers during the first seven months of 2004, 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 seven months of 2004, with 22.2 million passenger boardings (Table 4). 

July 2004 Airline Traffic 

            In July 2004, U.S. airlines carried 59.6 million domestic passengers, 6.1 percent more than in July 2003 (Table 5). 

These passengers were carried on 847,911 flights, up 0.4 percent from the flights operated in July 2003. 

In other month-to-month domestic comparisons from July 2003 to July 2004: 

            Revenue passenger miles, a measure of the number of passengers and the distance flown, were up 8.9 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 1.2 percentage points. 

            Flight stage length, the average non-stop distance, was up 7.3 percent. 

            Passenger trip length, the average distance passengers travel, was up 2.7 percent. 

            The number of domestic airline passengers rose 4.2 percent in July from June (Table 1).  Month-to-month comparisons may be affected by seasonal factors. 

            Among airlines, Southwest Airlines carried 7.6 million domestic passengers during July, the most of any airline (Table 6). 

Among airports, Hartsfield-Jackson International in Atlanta was the busiest U.S. airport for domestic travel during July, 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.  July traffic data are preliminary and include data received by BTS from 92 airlines as of October 13.  Data are subject to revision.            

            Revised data from June 2004 and previous months are posted on the BTS website at http://transtats.bts.gov.  BTS will release August traffic data on November 11.   

Table 1. Total Industry Domestic Enplanements

Month	2003	2004
January	43,340,153	44,158,500
February	41,503,697	45,656,000
March	50,436,202	54,498,870
April	47,411,468	53,620,590
May	49,461,885	53,045,721
June	52,587,984	57,227,414
July	56,200,411	59,633,830
August	54,370,516
September	44,619,685
October	50,396,545
November	47,501,933
December	50,171,775
Jan-July Total	340,941,800	367,840,925

Source: T-100 Domestic Market
 

Table 2: Domestic Airline Travel January to July

	Jan-July 2003	Jan-July 2004
Passengers	340,941,800	367,840,925
Flights	5,520,585	5,712,993
Revenue Passenger Miles(000)	288,105,374	319,893,395
Available Seat-Miles(000)	393,583,084	427,042,373
Load factor	73.2%	74.9%
Flight stage length	574	605
Passenger trip length	845	870

Source: T-100 Domestic Market and Segment

Table 3. Top 10 Airlines, ranked by January to July 2004 Domestic Enplanements

Rank	Airline Name	Jan-July 2003	Jan-July 2004	Jan-July 2003 Rank
1	Southwest Airlines	43,771,932	47,466,094	2
2	Delta Airlines	45,618,279	46,883,939	1
3	American Airlines	42,879,802	42,928,542	3
4	United Airlines	32,996,408	34,963,033	4
5	Northwest Airlines	25,239,624	26,719,372	5
6	US Airways	21,917,796	22,183,855	6
7	Continental Airlines	18,121,652	18,493,610	7
8	America West Airlines	11,233,207	11,620,727	8
9	Alaska Airlines	7,433,654	8,176,271	9
10	American Eagle Airlines	6,585,522	8,072,099	11

Source: T-100 Domestic Market
 

Table 4. Top 10 Airports ranked by January to July 2004 Domestic Enplanements

Rank	Airport Name	Jan-July 2003	Jan-July 2004	Jan-July 2003 Rank
1	Hartsfield-Jackson International	20,667,958	22,204,402	1
2	O’Hare International	16,477,332	17,852,555	2
3	Dallas-Ft Worth International	13,238,197	15,105,604	3
4	Los Angeles International	11,357,230	12,384,878	4
5	Denver International	9,930,660	11,511,556	6
6	Las Vegas McCarran International	9,710,965	11,158,144	7
7	Phoenix Sky Harbor International	10,486,304	10,916,741	5
8	Minneapolis-St. Paul International	8,671,619	9,426,011	8
9	Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County	8,172,832	8,764,312	9
10	Orlando International	7,405,934	8,733,662	11

Source: T-100 Domestic Market

 

Table 5: Domestic Airline Travel in July

	July 2003	July 2004
Passengers	56,200,411	59,633,830
Flights	844,783	847,911
Revenue Passenger Miles(000)	48,741,208	53,056,668
Available Seat-Miles(000)	60,138,479	64,513,768
Load factor	81.0%	82.2%
Flight stage length	573	615
Passenger trip length	867	890

Source: T-100 Domestic Market and Segment 

 

Table 6. Top 10 Airlines, ranked by July 2004 Domestic Enplanements

Rank	Airline Name	July 2003	July 2004	July 2003 Rank
1	Southwest Airlines	7,134,968	7,623,703	2
2	Delta Airlines	7,190,969	7,469,377	1
3	American Airlines	7,007,963	6,718,150	3
4	United Airlines	5,400,012	5,833,064	4
5	Northwest Airlines	4,212,743	4,472,013	5
6	US Airways	3,493,982	3,474,841	6
7	Continental Airlines	3,020,299	2,978,741	7
8	America West Airlines	1,825,634	1,868,638	8
9	Alaska Airlines	1,376,591	1,479,729	9
10	American Eagle Airlines	1,071,022	1,316,870	11

Source: T-100 Domestic Market