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BTS 3-13
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Contact: Dave Smallen
Tel: 202-366-5568 BTS Releases October 2012 Airline Traffic Data;
System Passengers Decline 0.6% from October 2011 The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported today that U.S. airlines carried 60.8 million scheduled systemwide passengers in October 2012, 0.6 percent fewer than in October 2011. The systemwide decline was the result of a 0.8 percent decrease in the number of domestic passengers (53.7 million) despite a 1.0 percent increase in international passengers (7.2 million). Although the total number of passengers in the month of October 2012 declined from a year ago, U.S. airlines carried 0.9 percent more total system passengers during the first 10 months of 2012 (619.0 million) than during the same period in 2011. Domestically, U.S. airlines carried 539.2 million passengers, up 0.8 percent from 2011. Internationally, they carried 79.8 million passengers, up 1.8 percent from 2011. See Tables 2, 8 and 14 of Air Traffic Press Releases for previous-year data. Additional traffic data can be found on the BTS Airlines and Airports page. Click on a link in the Quick Links box on the right. For more historical data, see Traffic on the BTS website. Load Factor and Capacity Domestic (84.1) and systemwide (83.4) passenger load factors reached record levels for the month of October while the international load factor (81.5) remained below the levels reached in 2009 and 2010. Continuing earlier service reductions, domestic capacity, measured by available seat-miles, was down 1.4 percent in October 2012 compared to October 2011. Revenue passenger miles (RPMs) declined by 0.7 percent. The international load factor in October rose from October 2011 with a 0.1 percent decrease in RPMs compared to a decrease in capacity of 1.9 percent. Systemwide capacity declined 1.6 percent compared to a 0.5 percent decline in RPMs. See Tables 1, 7 and 13 of Air Traffic Press Releases for previous-year data. Top Airlines In October 2012, Delta Air Lines carried more system passengers than any other U.S. airline and Southwest Airlines carried the most domestic passengers. United Airlines, following its merger with Continental Airlines, carried the most international passengers. The top 10 U.S. airlines in terms of passengers carried 80.6 percent of systemwide passengers, up from 75.7 percent carried by the U.S. airlines that were in the top 10 in October 2011. See Air Traffic Release for summary tables and additional data. ### You are subscribed to DOT News for Department of Transportation. This information has recently been updated, and is now available.
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