|
BTS 16-13
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Contact: Dave Smallen
Tel.: 202-366-5568
BTS Releases Summary 2012 Traffic Data for U.S Airlines and Foreign Airlines’ U.S. Flights; Total Passengers Increased 1.3% from 2011
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) today reported that 815.3 million scheduled passengers traveled on U.S. airlines and on foreign airlines to and from the United States in 2012. This is a 1.3 percent increase from 2011.
BTS, a part of the Department’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration, in a release of preliminary data, reported that U.S. airlines carried 0.6 percent more domestic passengers in 2012 and 2.0 percent more international passengers than in 2011 for a systemwide increase of 0.8 percent. The number of passengers traveling to and from the United States on foreign carriers increased 6.8 percent from 2011.
This annual release includes data on U.S. carrier scheduled domestic and international service and foreign carrier scheduled international service to and from the United States. BTS regular monthly air traffic releases include data on U.S. carrier scheduled service only. For U.S. domestic service data for 2012, see the BTS December Air Traffic press release.
The upward trend of international passenger numbers continued with increases from each month of 2011 to the same month in 2012 but domestic numbers decreased from the corresponding month of 2011 during the fall.
Top Airlines in 2012
Delta Air Lines carried more total system passengers in 2012 than any other U.S. airline for the third consecutive year. United Airlines, following its merger with Continental Airlines, carried more international passengers to and from the United States in 2012 than any other U.S. or foreign carrier.
Top Airports in 2012
More total system passengers boarded planes in 2012 at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International than at any other U.S. airport; and more international passengers boarded planes at New York John F. Kennedy than at any other U.S. airport.
Load Factor and Capacity
Despite a 2.4 percent rise in revenue passenger-miles, a 1.2 percent increase in capacity, measured in available seat-miles, resulted in a 0.9 point rise in load factor to 82.5, the highest annual load factor on record for U.S. carriers and foreign carriers serving the United States. U.S. carriers and foreign carriers serving the United States operated 9.8 million domestic and international flights in 2012, 1.7 percent fewer than in 2011.
See Air Traffic Release for summary tables and additional 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.
### You are subscribed to DOT News for Department of Transportation. This information has recently been updated, and is now available.
| U.S. Department of Transportation | 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE | Washington DC 20590 | 202-385-HELP (4357) |  | |
