The US Dept. of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported Friday that the July systemwide passenger load factor for US airlines was 86.9% (86.9% domestic and 86.7% international), the “highest recorded for any July.”
According to the report, US airlines carried 68.4 million passengers in July, a 0.4% increase compared to July 2009, but a decline of 3% versus July 2008. US airlines carried 0.6% fewer domestic passengers versus July 2009; however, the number of international passengers increased 7.5%.
Delta Air Lines carried the most passengers, transporting 10.8 million, up 63.8%, of which 2.25 million were traveling internationally, up 65.4%. The large percentage increases reflect the integration of Northwest Airlines. Southwest Airlines carried 10 million domestic passengers in July, up 4.7% year over year and the most domestic passengers of any US airline.
For the first seven months of 2010, passengers rose 1.1% over the year-ago period to 417.9 million. Airlines carried 0.5% more domestic passengers and 4.9% more international passengers in the first seven months of 2010 compared to the same period in 2009.
