The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported today that U.S. airlines and foreign airlines serving the United States carried 826.0 million systemwide (domestic + international) scheduled service passengers in 2013, 1.3 percent more than in 2012 and the highest total since 2007. The systemwide total was the result of a 0.5 percent increase in the number of domestic passengers (645.6 million) and a 4.0 percent increase in international passengers (180.4 million).
U.S. airlines carried 0.5 percent more domestic passengers and 3.3 percent more international passengers than in 2012 for a systemwide increase of 0.9 percent. The number of passengers traveling to and from the United States on foreign carriers increased 4.9 percent from 2012.
This annual release includes preliminary 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 2013, see the BTS December Air Traffic press release.
An upward trend of international passenger numbers continued throughout the year with increases each month in 2013 compared to the same month in 2012. but year-to-year declines in domestic passenger numbers resulted in decreases in total passenger numbers from the corresponding month of 2012 in February, April and November.
Top Airlines in 2012
Delta Air Lines carried more total system passengers in 2013 than any other U.S. airline for the fourth consecutive year. United Airlines carried more international passengers to and from the United States in 2013 than any other U.S. or foreign carrier for the second consecutive year.
Top Airports in 2012
More total system passengers boarded planes in 2013 at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International than at any other U.S. airport (Table 4); and more international passengers boarded planes at New York John F. Kennedy than at any other U.S. airport.
Load Factor and Capacity
Revenue passenger-miles rose 3.1 percent from 2012 to 2013, faster than the 2.7 percent growth in capacity, measured in available seat-miles. The result was a 0.3 point rise in load factor to 82.8, the highest annual load factor on record for U.S. carriers and foreign carriers serving the United States.
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. #
