Airlines for America Announces U.S. Airlines Achieve 83 Percent Passenger Load Factor, Highest Level Since 1945

DOT Report Shows Scheduled Passenger Volumes Edge Up 0.8 Percent to Nearly 737 Million, Including More Than 83 Million International Passengers

WASHINGTON, March 26, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Airlines for America^® (A4A), the industry trade organization for the leading U.S. airlines, announced that in 2012 the U.S. airlines achieved an 82.8 percent load factor, the highest level for scheduled service since 1945, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) report released today. In addition, the U.S. airline industry enplaned 736.6 million passengers in scheduled service last year, up 0.8 percent from 2011, which includes a record-setting 83.4 million international passengers. The all-time annual high for passengers carried was 769.6 million in 2007. System-wide capacity, as measured by available seat miles, rose 0.2 percent. 

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"Last year, U.S. airlines set a modern-day record for passenger load factor, which speaks directly to their efficient utilization of seating capacity," said John Heimlich Vice President and Chief Economist for Airlines for America. "While the U.S. airline industry operated approximately 2 percent fewer flights than in 2011, it carried 737 million passengers, the most since 2008. In fact, our nation's carriers accommodated more than 83 million passengers internationally, reflecting our increasing presence and service offerings in highly competitive global markets."

ABOUT A4A
Annually, commercial aviation helps drive more than $1 trillion in U.S. economic activity and more than 10 million U.S. jobs. A4A airline members and their affiliates transport more than 90 percent of all U.S. airline passenger and cargo traffic. America needs a cohesive National Airline Policy that will support the integral role the nation's airlines play in connecting people and goods globally, spur the nation's economic growth and create more high-paying jobs.

For more information about the airline industry, visit www.airlines.org and follow us on Twitter @airlinesdotorg.

For more information about the National Airline Policy campaign visit: www.nationalairlinepolicy.com, Twitter: @Natl_Air_Policy

Facebook: facebook.com/nationalairlinepolicy

SOURCE Airlines for America

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