July Airline Traffic Data: Seven-Month Domestic Traffic Up 7.9 Percent From 2003

BTS 28-04

:: Contact Dave Smallen 202-366-5568

Thursday, October 14, 2004 - 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

Excel | CSV

Source: T-100 Domestic Market

Table 2: Domestic Airline Travel January to July

Excel | CSV

Source: T-100 Domestic Market and Segment

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

Excel | CSV

Source: T-100 Domestic Market

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

Excel | CSV

Source: T-100 Domestic Market

Table 5: Domestic Airline Travel in July

Excel | CSV

Source: T-100 Domestic Market and Segment

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

Excel | CSV

Source: T-100 Domestic Market

Table 7: Top 10 Airports ranked by July 2004 Domestic Enplanements

Excel | CSV

Source: T-100 Domestic Market

Bureau of Transportation Statistics • U.S. Department of Transportation • White House
400 7th Street, SW • Room 3103 • Washington, DC 20590 • 800-853-1351 •

Accessibility | Disclaimer | FedStats | FirstGov | Freedom of Information Act | No FEAR Act | Privacy Policy