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TI News: An information service from the National Travel & Tourism Office (NTTO)

September 10, 2014

May 2014 YTD U.S. - International Air Passenger Traffic up Seven Percent

Total International Traffic up 10 Percent in May
Europe and Asia Solid Gains; Latin and Middle East Markets Strong Traffic for Year

International air traffic to/from the U.S.(1)totaled 77.9 million passengers through May 2014, a seven percent increase over the May 2013 year-to-date period.

U.S. citizen travel (33.8 million) was up eight percent and comprised 43 percent of all air traffic. Non-U.S. citizen air travelers (44.1 million) increased by seven percent, with market share at 57 percent.

U.S. airlines carried 41.2 million passengers, up five percent, however their share slipped to 53 percent. Foreign flags carried 36.7 million passengers, up nine percent from same period 2013.

International Passengers (mlns) % Chg y-o-y Market Share % Pt. chg.
   U.S. Citizens 33.838 7.7% 43.4% 0.2
   Non-U.S. Citizens 44.111 6.7% 56.6% -0.2
         
   U.S. Flag Carriers (2) 41.243 5.4% 52.9% -0.9
   Foreign Flag Carriers 36.706 9.1% 47.1% 0.9

The following, overseas, Canada and Mexico regions are ‘breakouts’ of international:

Overseas air traffic accounted for 56.5 million passengers, almost 73 percent of all international, and grew by seven percent.

U.S. citizen travel (24.9 million) was up six percent and comprised 44 percent of overseas air traffic. Non-U.S. citizen air travelers (31.6 million) increased by seven percent holding their market share at 56 percent.

U.S. airlines carried 28.6 million passengers, up five percent, their share dropping to 51 percent. Foreign flags carried 27.9 million passengers, up eight percent from May 2013 YTD.

Overseas Regions Passengers (mlns) % Chg y-o-y Market Share % Pt. chg.
   U.S. Citizens 24.939 6.2% 44.1% -0.1
   Non-U.S. Citizens 31.574 6.6% 55.9% 0.1
         
   U.S. Flag Carriers 28.637 4.6% 50.7% -0.9
   Foreign Flag Carriers 27.876 8.4% 49.3% 0.9

Overseas regions performed as follows:

Overseas Regions Passengers (mlns) % of all
International		 % Change
2014 / 2013
   Europe    20.307    26%    5.6%
   Asia    11.721    15%    4.9%
   Caribbean    8.577    11%    6.9%
   South America    6.140    8%    5.1%
   Central America    4.467    6%    12.1%
   Middle East    3.022    4%    15.9%
   Oceania    1.756    2%    3.0%
   Africa    0.524    1%    -1.8%

North American markets accounted for 27.5 percent of U.S. international air traffic flows.

Canadian air traffic accounted for 11.4 million passengers, 15 percent of all international traffic, and increased by six percent.

U.S. citizen travel (2.4 million) increased seven percent and comprised 21 percent of air traffic. Canadian, and other foreign national citizen air travelers transiting through Canada (9.0 million), increased by six percent. Market share remained edged down at 79 percent.

U.S. flags carried 4.8 million passengers, up three percent from last year, and their share slipped to 42 percent. Foreign flags carried 6.6 million passengers, up eight percent.

Canada Region Passengers (mlns) % Chg y-o-y Market Share % Pt. chg.
   U.S. Citizens 2.393 6.9% 21.0% 0.2
   Non-U.S. Citizens 8.986 5.6% 79.0% -0.2
         
   U.S. Flag Carriers 4.774 2.6% 42.0% -1.3
   Foreign Flag Carriers 6.605 8.4% 58.0% 1.3

Mexico air traffic accounted for 10.1 million passengers, 13 percent of all international traffic, and was up 13 percent.

U.S. citizen travel (6.5 million) increased 14 percent and comprised 65 percent of all air traffic. Mexicans, and other foreign national air travelers (3.6 million) transiting through Mexico, increased by 11 percent, but market share dropped to 35 percent.

U.S. flags carried 7.8 million passengers, up 11 percent from last year, but their share slipped to 78 percent. Foreign flags carried 2.2 million passengers, up 21 percent increasing share to 22 percent.

Mexican Region Passengers (mlns) % Chg y-o-y Market Share % Pt. chg.
   U.S. Citizens 6.506 14.0% 64.7% 0.7
   Non-U.S. Citizens 3.551 10.6% 35.3% -0.7
         
   U.S. Flag Carriers 7.833 10.6% 77.9% -1.5
   Foreign Flag Carriers 2.224 21.1% 22.1% 1.5

May 2014 Year-to-Date

Top 10 Foreign Airports (Passenger Traffic to/From U.S.):
30.1 million Passengers, 38% of Total International Air Traffic

    Passengers (mlns) % Change y-o-y
1. London Heathrow (LHR) 5.464 2.7%
2. Toronto (YYZ) 4.748 5.2%
3. Tokyo Narita (NRT) 3.810 -0.6%
4. Cancun (CUN) 3.172 11.3%
5. Mexico City (MEX) 2.466 11.4%
6. Frankfurt (FRT) 2.423 0.1%
7. Paris/de Gaulle (CDG) 2.410 10.0%
8. Incheon (ICN) 2.038 3.2%
9. Vancouver (YVR) 1.908 9.4%
10. Amsterdam (AMS) 1.681 1.5%

Top 10 U.S. Airports (Passenger Traffic to/From Foreign Airports):
53.7 million Passengers, 68% of Total Air Traffic/

    Passengers (mlns) % Change y-o-y
1. New York (JFK) 10.622 7.2%
2. Miami (MIA) 8.432 2.7%
3. Los Angeles (LAX) 7.567 10.2%
4. Newark (EWR) 4.666 1.4%
5. Chicago (ORD) 4.573 10.5%
6. Atlanta (ATL) 4.341 7.8%
7. Houston International (IAH) 4.049 11.9%
8. San Francisco (SFO) 3.999 9.1%
9. Dallas-Ft Worth (DFW) 2.782 10.0%
10. Washington Dulles (IAD) 2.710 4.5%

Top 10 Airlines(2) Serving U.S. International Non-Stop Markets:
46.2 million Passengers, 59% of Total Air Traffic

    Passengers (mlns) % Change y-o-y
1. United Airlines (UA) 12.210 2.7%
2. American Airlines (AA) 9.154 3.2%
3. Delta Air Lines (DL) 8.937 11.4%
4. US Airways (US) 3.401 1.2%
5. British Airways (BA) 2.762 4.1%
6. Air Canada (AC mainline) 2.208 -24.3%
7. JetBlue (B6) 2.205 20.5%
8. West Jet (WS) 2.028 9.5%
9. Lufthansa (LH) 2.017 -0.6%
10. AeroMexico (AM) 1.319 26.5%

Monthly % changes:
January 2014 traffic was up 7.7 percent, February, up 5.5 percent, March, up 3.0 percent,
April, up 9.6% and May up 9.9%.

Subsequently NTTO will publish the May U.S. Citizen Outbound, all mode travel. (U.S. Citizen outbound is a component in the estimation of U.S. travel ‘imports’. For current 2014, April: https://travel.trade.gov/view/m-2014-O-001/index.html

A description of the “APIS” program: https://travel.trade.gov/research/programs/i92/index.html includes subscription prices for detail reports in excel and adobe.

U.S. Department of Commerce
International Trade Administration
National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO)
1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Room 10003
Washington, D.C. 20230
Phone: (202) 482-0140
Website: https://travel.trade.gov/
Email: ntto@trade.gov

(1) This reflects non-stop air-only data. A portion of the non-stop passenger traffic to i.e., Europe will not visit Europe, but will connect through one of Europe’s airline hubs (LHR, AMS, FRA, CDG, MAD, etc.) to Africa and the Middle East. The adjustment to these regions, reflecting visitation (1+ nights), occurs after year-end data is compiled.

(2) Numbers for U.S. carriers varies from what has been reported by Airlines for America. A4A reported mainline numbers for most of their member carriers. The DHS-I92/APIS data includes all carriers with international service to/from the U.S. including regional carriers, both affiliated and non-affiliated, and general aviation. The I-92APIS, however is not inclusive of Pacific inter-port or other ‘beyond’ traffic.

Performance metrics reported are:

  • Total international air travel (arrivals + departures),
  • U.S. citizen and foreign citizen air travelers,
  • U.S. flag and foreign flag carriers,
  • Top U.S. and foreign airports.