BTS 12-15 BTS Releases December 2014 U.S. Airline Traffic DataThe U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported today that U.S. airlines’ systemwide (domestic and international) scheduled service load factor – a measure of the use of airline capacity – rose to 83.0 percent, seasonally adjusted, in December from November, increasing after a one month decline. Seasonal adjustment allows the comparing of monthly load factors to all other months. The seasonally-adjusted load factor rose in December after falling in November to 82.4, the lowest point in 12 months. The December load factor of 83.0 remained below the all-time seasonally-adjusted high of 84.5 in January 2014. Load factor is a measure of the use of aircraft capacity that compares the system use, measured in Revenue Passenger-Miles (RPMs) as a proportion of system capacity, measured in Available Seat-Miles (ASMs). The November to December increase was the result of a 1.8 percent increase in RPMs combined with the slower 1.1 percent growth in ASMs. U.S. Airline Trends: Seasonally-adjusted Despite the rise from November to December, systemwide load factors gradually declined throughout 2014. Load factors have generally increased since the recession because demand, measured in RPMs, has increased at a faster pace than capacity, measured in ASMs. In December, demand reached an all-time high, exceeding the previous high set in October. The last 10 months of 2014 are the 10 all-time highest months for demand. Capacity increased slightly in December to the highest level since the recession and the second highest all-time. The final three months of 2014 are the only three post-recession months among the top 10 for capacity, showing that after six years capacity has returned to pre-recession levels. Systemwide enplanements in December were the highest since the recession spurred by a monthly record high for international enplanements. Domestic enplanements have been rising slowly but remain below pre-recession levels. Seasonally-adjusted trends are for the time period January 2000 to present. Unadjusted Systemwide: The number of passengers and demand, measured in RPMs, reached an all-time high for the month of December. Capacity, measured in ASMs, while up from December 2013, remained below the all-time high for the month of December set in 2007. Domestic: The number of passengers and demand, measured in RPMs, reached an all-time high for the month of December. Capacity, measured in ASMs, while up from December 2013, remained below the all-time high for the month of December set in 2007. International: The number of passengers, demand and capacity all reached all-time highs for the month of December 2014, exceeding the highs set in December 2013. Annual Trends For the full year 2014, U.S. airlines set all-time highs in systemwide load factor and RPMs; domestic load factor and RPMs; and international RPMs, ASMs and passengers. 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. See Load factor, RPMs, ASMs and Passengers. For more historical data, see Traffic on the BTS website. See Seasonal Adjustment for methodology and additional explanation. See data for airline data since 2000 as well as seasonally-adjusted data for rail, transit, pipelines, trucking and waterways.
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BTS Releases December 2014 U.S. Airline Traffic Data
