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

December 16, 2014

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

Total International Traffic up Five Percent in October
Europe up Four Percent, Asia Three Percent and Middle East 22 Percent for the Month
China Arrivals up 23 Percent in October

International non-stop air traffic to/from the U.S.⁽¹⁾ totaled 166.4 million passengers through October 2014, a seven percent increase over the October 2013 year-to-date period.

U.S. citizen travel (73.8 million) was up seven percent and comprised 44 percent of all air traffic. Non-U.S. citizen air travelers (92.7 million) increased by seven percent with their market share at 56 percent.

U.S. airlines carried 86.3 million passengers, up four percent, with their share at 52 percent. Foreign flags carried 80.1 million passengers, up 10 percent from same period 2013.

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

Overseas air traffic accounted for 124.0 million passengers, 75 percent of all international, and grew by six percent.

U.S. citizen travel (55.2 million) was up six percent comprising almost 45 percent of overseas air traffic. Non-U.S. citizen air travelers (68.9 million) were up by six percent with their market share over 55 percent.

U.S. airlines carried 61.3 million passengers, up three percent, their share at 50 percent. Foreign flags carried 62.7 million passengers, up nine percent from October 2013 YTD.

Overseas regions performed as follows:

China to U.S. 'Arrivals' ⁽²⁾ for October 2014:

North American markets accounted for over 25 percent of U.S. international air traffic flows.

Canadian air traffic accounted for 23.1 million passengers, 14 percent of all international traffic, and increased by seven percent.

U.S. citizen travel (6.5 million) increased nine percent and comprised 29 percent of air traffic. Canadian, and other foreign national citizen air travelers transiting through Canada (16.6 million), increased by almost seven percent. Market share was 72 percent.

U.S. flags carried 10.5 million passengers, up three percent from last year, with their share at 45 percent. Foreign flags carried 12.7 million passengers, up 11 percent.

Mexico air traffic accounted for 19.3 million passengers, 12 percent of all international traffic, and was up 11 percent.

U.S. citizen travel (12.0 million) increased 12 percent and comprised 62 percent of air traffic. Mexicans, and other foreign national air travelers (7.2 million) transiting through Mexico, increased by nine percent, with market share 38 percent.

U.S. flags carried 14.6 million passengers, up eight percent from last year, but their share slipped to 76 percent. Foreign flags carried 4.7 million passengers, up 19 percent increasing share to 25 percent

October 2014 Year-to-Date

Top 10 Foreign Airports (Passenger Traffic to/From U.S.):
65.2 million Passengers, 39% of Total International Air Traffic

Top 10 U.S. Airports (Passenger Traffic to/From Foreign Airports):
116.3 million Passengers, 69% of Total Air Traffic

Top 10 Airlines⁽³⁾ Serving U.S. International Non-Stop Markets:
97.0 million Passengers, 58% of Total Air Traffic

Monthly YOY % changes:

October 2014 YTD up 6.8%

Later this month NTTO will publish the October U.S. Citizen Outbound, all mode travel, as the aggregate Canadian and Mexican departure data is received from Stats Canada and Banco de Mexico, respectively. (U.S. Citizen outbound is a component in the estimation of U.S. travel ‘imports’.) For current 2014, September: 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⁾ Non-stop air arrivals from China (PRC). Non-U.S. citizens assumed to be mostly Chinese citizens. All inbound from China, including U.S. citizens returning, compared to available seats (DIIO/Innovata) to estimate load factor. Note: PRC travelers also connect via Asian hubs or Canada when traveling to U.S.

⁽³⁾ 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. A4A includes Canada in Domestic. 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-92 APIS, 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.