US DOT: US airlines’ load factor rose to 83.6 percent in June

WASHINGTON, DC – The US Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported today that US airlines’ systemwide (domestic and international) scheduled service load factor – a measure of the use of airline capacity – rose to 83.6 percent in June, seasonally adjusted, rising for the third consecutive month.

The seasonally-adjusted load factor rose from May (83.5) to June (83.6) because passenger travel grew faster (0.6 percent increase in Revenue Passenger-Miles (RPMs)) than system capacity (0.5 percent increase in Available Seat-Miles (ASMs)).

Load factor is a measure of the use of aircraft capacity that compares the system use, measured in RPMs as a proportion of system capacity, measured in ASMs.

Trends:

Seasonally-adjusted

Systemwide load factor (83.6) was down 1.1 points from the all-time seasonally-adjusted high (84.7) reached in October 2015. Domestic load factor (84.8) was down 1.4 points from the all-time seasonally-adjusted high (86.2) reached in October 2015. International load factor (80.9) was down 2.2 points from the all-time seasonally-adjusted high (83.1) reached in March 2013.

Systemwide RPMs (78.3 billion) reached a new seasonally-adjusted all-time high, up 0.6 percent from May 2016. Domestic RPM (55.3 billion) reached a new seasonally-adjusted all-time high, up 0.3 percent from May 2016. International RPMs (23.1 billion) were down 0.1 percent from the all-time seasonally-adjusted high (23.1 billion) reached in July 2015.

Systemwide ASMs (93.7 billion) reached a new seasonally-adjusted all-time high, up 0.5 percent from May 2016. Domestic ASMs (65.2 billion) reached a new seasonally-adjusted all-time high, up 0.6 percent from May 2016. International ASMs (28.5 billion) reached a new seasonally-adjusted all-time high, up 0.3 percent from May 2016.

Systemwide passenger enplanements (69.0 million) reached a new seasonally-adjusted all-time high, slightly exceeding the previous high in May 2016 by 4,000 passengers. Domestic passenger enplanements (60.2 million) were down 0.2 percent from the all-time seasonally-adjusted high (60.3 million) reached in May 2016. International passenger enplanements (8.8 million) reached a new seasonally-adjusted all-time high, up 1.1 percent from May 2016 .

Unadjusted

Systemwide load factor (86.6) was down 0.4 points from the all-time June high (87.0) reached in 2013. Domestic load factor (87.6) was up 0.2 points from the all-time June high (87.4) reached in 2014. International load factor (84.5) was down 2.4 points from the all-time June high (86.9) reached in 2013.

Systemwide RPMs (86.4 billion) reached an all-time June high, up 4.5 percent from the previous high (82.7 billion) reached in 2015. Domestic RPMs (60.2 billion) reached an all-time June high, up 5.5 percent from the previous high (57.0 billion) reached in 2015. International RPMs (26.2 billion) reached an all-time June high, up 2.1 percent from the previous high (25.7 billion) reached in 2015.

Systemwide ASMs (99.7 billion) reached an all-time June high, up 4.2 percent from the previous high (95.7 billion) reached in 2015. Domestic ASMs (68.7 billion) reached an all-time June high, up 5.3 percent from the previous high (65.2 billion) reached in 2015. International ASMs (31.1 billion) reached an all-time June high, up 1.9 percent from the previous high (30.5 billion) reached in 2015.

Systemwide passenger enplanements (74.4 million) reached an all-time June high, up 4.5 percent from the previous high (71.3 million) reached in 2015. Domestic passenger enplanements (64.7 million) reached an all-time June high, up 4.7 percent from the previous high (61.8 million) reached in 2015. International passenger enplanements (9.7 million) reached an all-time June high, up 3.0 percent from the previous high (9.5 million) reached in 2015.