OTTI Reports Total International Monthly Air Traffic for the First Time
International air traffic to/from the U.S.(1) totaled 13.7 million passengers in January 2012, a six percent increase over January 2011. U.S. citizen travel (5.9 million) increased two percent and comprised 43 percent of all air traffic. However, non-U.S. citizen air travelers (7.9 million) increased by nine percent raising their market share to 57 percent.
U.S. airlines carried 7.4 million passengers, up two percent, however their share slipped from 56 to 54 percent. Foreign flags carried 6.3 million passengers, up 12 percent from January 2011.
| International | Passengers (mlns) | % Chg y-o-y | Market Share | % Pt change |
| U.S. Citizens | 5.857 | 2% | 43% | -1 |
| Non-U.S. Citizens | 7.855 | 9% | 57% | +1 |
| U.S. Flag Carriers (2) | 7.377 | 2% | 54% | -2 |
| Foreign Flag Carriers | 6.334 | 12% | 46% | +2 |
Overseas air traffic accounted for 10.1 million passengers, 73 percent of all international. U.S. citizen travel (4.4 million) increased two percent and comprised 44 percent of all air traffic. Non-U.S. citizen air travelers (5.6 million) increased by nine percent increasing their market share to 56 percent.
U.S. airlines carried 5.2 million passengers, up two percent, however their share dropped from 54 to 52 percent. Foreign flags carried 4.8 million passengers, up 10 percent from January 2011.
| Overseas Regions | Passengers (mlns) | % Chg y-o-y | Market Share | % Pt change |
| U.S. Citizens | 4.423 | 2% | 44% | -1 |
| Non-U.S. Citizens | 5.635 | 9% | 56% | +1 |
| U.S. Flag Carriers | 5.212 | 2% | 52% | -2 |
| Foreign Flag Carriers | 4.845 | 10% | 48% | +2 |
Overseas regions performed as follows:
| Overseas Regions | Passengers (mlns) | % of all International |
| Europe | 3.287 | 24% |
| Asia | 2.265 | 16% |
| Caribbean | 1.496 | 11% |
| South America | 1.212 | 9% |
| Central America | 0.844 | 6% |
| Middle East | 0.483 | 4% |
| Oceania | 0.361 | 3% |
| Africa | 0.110 | 1% |
North American markets accounted for 27 percent of U.S. international air traffic flows.
Canadian air traffic accounted for 1.9 million passengers, 14 percent of all international traffic. U.S. citizen travel (365,000) increased two percent and comprised only 19 percent of all air traffic. Non-U.S. citizen air travelers (1.6 million) increased by seven percent increasing their market share to 81 percent.
U.S. flags carried 813,000 passengers, flat from last year, and their share dropped from 45 to 42 percent. Foreign flags carried 1.1 million passengers, up 11 percent increasing share to 58 percent.
| Canadian Region | Passengers (mlns) | % Chg y-o-y | Market Share | % Pt change |
| U.S. Citizens | 0.365 | 2% | 19% | -1 |
| Non-U.S. Citizens | 1.562 | 7% | 81% | +1 |
| U.S. Flag Carriers | 0.813 | 0% | 42% | -3 |
| Foreign Flag Carriers | 1.114 | 11% | 58% | +3 |
Mexico air traffic accounted for 1.7 million passengers, 13 percent of all international traffic. U.S. citizen travel (1.1) increased two percent and comprised 62 percent of all air traffic. Non-U.S. citizen air travelers (659,000) increased by 15 percent increasing their market share to 38 percent.
U.S. flags carried 1.35 million passengers, flat from last year, and their share dropped from 84 to 78 percent. Foreign flags carried 376,000 passengers, up 43 percent increasing share to 22 percent.
| Mexican Region | Passengers (mlns) | % Chg y-o-y | Market Share | % Pt change |
| U.S. Citizens | 1.070 | 2% | 62% | -3 |
| Non-U.S. Citizens | 0.659 | 15% | 38% | +3 |
| U.S. Flag Carriers | 1.353 | 0% | 78% | -6 |
| Foreign Flag Carriers | 0.376 | 43% | 22% | +6 |
Top 10 Foreign Airports (Passenger Traffic to/From U.S.):
Four were European, two were Canadian, two were Asian and two were Mexican.
| Passengers | ||
| 1. | London Heathrow (LHR) | 950,146 |
| 2. | Toronto (YYZ) | 767,079 |
| 3. | Tokyo Narita (NRT) | 762,584 |
| 4. | Cancun (CUN) | 511,594 |
| 5. | Mexico City (MEX) | 434,490 |
| 6. | Frankfurt (FRT) | 432,622 |
| 7. | Incheon (ICT) | 414,848 |
| 8. | Paris/de Gaulle (CDG) | 391,290 |
| 9. | Vancouver (YVR) | 334,247 |
| 10. | Amsterdam (AMS) | 282,685 |
Top 10 U.S. Airports (Passenger Traffic to/From Foreign Airports):
| Passengers | ||
| 1. | New York (JFK | 1,776,079 |
| 2. | Miami (MIA) | 1,713,830 |
| 3. | Los Angeles (LAX) | 1,407.174 |
| 4. | Newark (EWR) | 846,415 |
| 5. | Chicago (ORD) | 781,282 |
| 6. | Atlanta (ATL) | 736,660 |
| 7. | Houston (IAH) | 718,003 |
| 8. | San Francisco (SFO) | 699,657 |
| 9. | Washington Dulles (IAD) | 470,679 |
| 10. | Dallas-Ft Worth (DFW) | 440,341 |
Top 10 Airlines Serving U.S. International Non-Stop Markets in January 2012:
| Passengers | ||
| 1. | American Airlines | 1,830,972 |
| 2. | Delta Air Lines | 1,448,440 |
| 3. | Continental Airlines | 1,266,638 |
| 4. | United Airlines | 976,063 |
| 5. | US Airways | 578,134 |
| 6. | Air Canada | 549,950 |
| 7. | British Airways | 461,291 |
| 8. | Lufthansa | 350,454 |
| 9. | West Jet | 334,489 |
| 10. | Jet Blue Airways | 312,023 |
Later this month OTTI will publish its ‘traditional’ U.S. Citizen Outbound, all mode travel, as the aggregate departure data is received from Stats Canada and Banco de Mexico. (U.S. Citizen outbound is a component used to estimate U.S. travel imports. See Final for 2011: http://www.tinet.ita.doc.gov/
A description of the “I-92” program: http://tinet.ita.doc.gov/
U.S. Department of Commerce
International Trade Administration
Office of Travel and Tourism Industries (OTTI)
1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Room 1015A
Washington, D.C. 20230
Phone: (202) 482-0140
Website: www.tinet.ita.doc.gov
Email: otti@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 slightly exceeds 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-92, however is not inclusive of Pacific inter-port or other ‘beyond’ traffic.
