BTS 37-15 BTS Releases May 2015 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 – fell to 82.6 percent in May, seasonally adjusted, declining for the third consecutive month. Seasonal adjustment allows the comparing of monthly load factors to all other months. For May, U.S. airlines reported seasonally-adjusted all-time monthly highs in passenger enplanements, Revenue Passenger-Miles (RPMs) and Available Seat-Miles (ASMs). Systemwide passenger enplanements in May (66.74 million) exceeded the previous record in April 2015 by 1.7 percent. Systemwide RPMs in May (74.9 billion) exceeded the previous record in April 2015 by 1.2 percent. Systemwide ASMs in May (90.7 billion) exceeded the previous record in April 2015 by 1.4 percent. These all-time highs did not result in a higher load factor in May because the airline capacity growth exceeded the growth in passenger travel. The May load factor of 82.6 was 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 seasonally-adjusted load factor fell in May for the third consecutive month. The load factor declined from April to May despite a 1.2 percent increase in RPMs because system capacity grew faster (1.4 percent increase in ASMs). Trends: Seasonally-adjusted The May load factor (82.6) dropped to the lowest level since November 2014. In May, RPMs, the passenger measure used to calculate load factor, reached an all-time high. However, the RPM increase did not keep pace with the increase in ASMs, leading to a decrease in the load factor. Ten of the last 11 months, starting with July 2014 through May 2015 are the 10 all-time highest months for RPMs with May 2015 the highest. November 2014 was not among the top 10. Unadjusted Systemwide: Load factor (83.9) was down from the all-time May high set in 2014 (85.0). The number of passengers, RPMs and ASMs all reached record highs for any May. Domestic: Load factor (85.5) was down from the all-time high for the month of May set in 2014 (86.3). The number of passengers, RPMs and ASMs all reached record highs for any May. International: Load factor (80.4) was down from May 2014 (82.3) and from the all-time May high set in 2013 (82.8). The number of passengers, RPMs and ASMs all reached record highs for any May. 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. ### You are subscribed to DOT News for Department of Transportation. This information has recently been updated, and is now available.
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BTS Releases May 2015 U.S. Airline Traffic Data
