Image Credit: Douglas Paul Perkins
If it seems that your flight is more crowded than it was a few years ago, you’re absolutely right. But the story doesn’t end there.
Overall, the trend is to pack more people onto planes.
Think about this: In 2002, domestic flights were flying at a 70.37 percent load factor.
So far for this year it’s 84.95 percent. And that’s just the average.
In summer months the load factor nears 90 percent—which means essentially, planes are flying full.
But the real surprise is the number of flights in the sky.
In 2005, there were more than 10 million. This year, it was around 8 million.
The airlines have cut capacity, they are filling their planes, and the airfares are more expensive.
But one thing hasn’t changed—perhaps the least crowded, least expensive time to fly.
It’s still the month of January, when load factors drop below 75 percent.
Here’s a closer look at the information about domestic flights provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Information for 2015 applies through the month of August.
For more information about airlines, check out:
- Airlines Find New Ways to Compete Over Price
- The Statistics for Airline On Time Performance 2015
- Airlines Add More Fees, Generate More Revenue
Keep reading for more travel tips.
