U.S. Carriers Appear on Track to Make 2007 Record Year

U.S. airlines carried 646.1 million scheduled domestic and international passengers on their systems during the first 10 months of 2007. This is a 3.6 percent increase, or nearly 23 million more passengers than compared to the same period in 2006, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported.

BTS said that the combined domestic and international load factor of 80.5 percent from January through October was a record for the 10-month period U.S. airlines would carry a record number of passengers in 2007 if the growth rate over 2006 is sustained for the rest of the year.

U.S. airlines carried 3.5 percent more domestic passengers and 4.5 percent more international passengers during the first 10 months of 2007 than during the same period in 2006.

In October, the most recent data month, U.S. airlines carried 64.1 million scheduled domestic and international passengers, 4.0 percent more than in October 2006. The number of domestic passengers increased 3.7 percent in October from a year earlier and international passengers increased 6.1 percent.

Southwest Airlines carried more total system and more domestic passengers for the first 10 months than any other U.S. airline. American Airlines carried more international passengers than any U.S. carrier.

More total system and domestic passengers boarded planes in the first 10 months at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International than at any other U.S. airport, and more international passengers boarded U.S. carriers at Miami International than at any other U.S. airport.

U.S. carriers operated 8.9 million domestic and international flights in the first 10 months of 2007, 0.9 percent more than were operated during the same period in 2006. Domestic flights increased 0.9 percent from the previous year while international flights were up 0.6 percent.

In October, U.S. airlines operated 902,200 scheduled domestic and international flights, up 0.9 percent from the number of flights operated in October 2006. The number of domestic flights increased 1.0 percent in October from a year earlier while international flights increased 0.7 percent.

In other total system comparisons from the first 10 months of 2006 to the first 10 months of 2007 and from October 2006 to October 2007, revenue passenger-miles (RPMs), a measure of the number of passengers and the distance flown, were up 4.1 percent in the first 10 months of 2007.