December 2012 Total U.S.-International Air Traffic Up Five Percent
U.S. Airlines Carried 54 Percent of All Air Traffic in 2012
Foreign Citizen and Foreign Flag Traffic Show Strong Growth
International air traffic to/from the United States(1) totaled 177.6 million passengers for 2012, a seven percent increase over 2011.
U.S. citizen air travel (78.2 million) increased four percent and comprised 44 percent of all air traffic. Foreign national (non-U.S. citizen) air travelers (99.4 million) increased by nine percent, increasing share of the total market from 55 to 56 percent.
U.S. airlines carried 95.3 million passengers, up four percent, however their share dropped one percentage point to 54 percent. Foreign flags carried 82.2 million passengers, up 10 percent from 2011, with their share increasing to 46 percent.
U.S.
- International
|
Passengers
(mlns)
|
%
Chg y-o-y
|
Market
Share
|
% Pt
change
|
U.S.
Citizens |
78.165
|
4%
|
44%
|
-1
|
Foreign
Nationals |
99.391
|
9%
|
56%
|
+1
|
|
|
|
|
|
U.S.
Flag Carriers (2) |
95.319
|
4%
|
54%
|
-1
|
Foreign
Flag Carriers |
82.237
|
10%
|
46%
|
+1
|
The following, overseas, Canada and Mexico regions are breakouts of international:
Overseas air traffic accounted for 133.0 million passengers, 75 percent of all international air traffic for the year, and was up seven percent.
U.S. citizen travel (59.7 million) increased four percent and comprised 45 percent of all overseas air traffic. Foreign national air travelers (73.4 million) increased by nine percent, increasing market share to 55 percent, a one percentage point increase in share between 2011 and 2012.
U.S. airlines carried 68.5 million passengers, up five percent, and their share dropped to 51 percent. Foreign flags carried 64.5 million passengers, up eight percent from 2011. Their traffic share increased to 49 percent.
U.S.
- Overseas Regions
|
Passengers
(mlns)
|
%
Chg y-o-y
|
Market
Share
|
% Pt
change
|
U.S.
Citizens |
59.672
|
4%
|
45%
|
-1
|
Foreign
Nationals |
73.350
|
9%
|
55%
|
+1
|
|
|
|
|
|
U.S.
Flag Carriers |
68.474
|
5%
|
51%
|
-1
|
Foreign
Flag Carriers |
64.548
|
8%
|
49%
|
+1
|
Overseas
Regions
|
Passengers
(mlns)
|
%
Chg from 2011
|
Europe |
53.225 |
4% |
Asia |
26.849 |
11% |
Caribbean |
18.968 |
6% |
South
America |
13.348 |
8% |
Central
America |
9.073 |
10% |
Middle
East |
6.149 |
10% |
Oceania |
4.013 |
7% |
Africa |
1.397 |
10% |
Total
Overseas |
133.022 |
7% |
North American markets (Canada and Mexico) accounted for 25 percent of U.S. international air traffic flows.
U.S.-Canada air traffic accounted for 24.8 million passengers, 14 percent of all international traffic, and was up seven percent in 2011.
U.S. citizen travel (6.5 million) increased five percent and comprised 26 percent of air traffic in the market. Canadian, and other foreign national citizen air travelers transiting through Canada (18.2 million), increased by eight percent with their market share increasing to 74 percent.
U.S. flags carried 11.5 million passengers, up three percent, and their share dropped from 48 to 46 percent. Foreign flags carried 13.3 million passengers, up 11 percent increasing their share to 54 percent.
U.S.
- Canada
|
Passengers
(mlns)
|
%
Chg y-o-y
|
Market
Share
|
% Pt
change
|
U.S.
Citizens |
6.539
|
5%
|
26%
|
-1
|
Foreign
Nationals |
18.223
|
8%
|
74%
|
+1
|
|
|
|
|
|
U.S.
Flag Carriers |
11.504
|
3%
|
46%
|
-2
|
Foreign
Flag Carriers |
13.258
|
11%
|
54%
|
+2
|
U.S. - Mexico air traffic accounted for 19.8 million passengers, 11 percent of all U.S. - international traffic, and was up six percent for 2012.
U.S. citizen travel (12.0 million) increased three percent and comprised 60 percent of all air traffic. Mexicans, and other foreign national air travelers (7.8 million) transiting through Mexico, increased by 12 percent increasing their market share to 40 percent.
U.S. flags carried 15.3 million passengers, up two percent from 2011, and their share dropped from 81 to 78 percent. Foreign flags carried 4.4 million passengers, up 24 percent increasing share to 22 percent.
U.S.
- Mexico
|
Passengers
(mlns)
|
%
Chg y-o-y
|
Market
Share
|
% Pt
change
|
U.S.
Citizens |
11.954
|
3%
|
60%
|
-3
|
Foreign
Nationals |
7.818
|
12%
|
40%
|
+3
|
|
|
|
|
|
U.S.
Flag Carriers |
15.341
|
2%
|
78%
|
-3
|
Foreign
Flag Carriers |
4.431
|
24%
|
22%
|
+3
|
Top 10 Foreign Airports (Passenger Traffic to/from U.S.) Annual 2012:
Accounted for 40 Percent of U.S. - International Air Traffic
|
|
Passengers
(millions) |
1. |
London Heathrow
(LHR) |
14.062 |
2. |
Toronto (YYZ) |
10.408 |
3. |
Tokyo Narita
(NRT) |
9.602 |
4. |
Frankfurt (FRT) |
6.572 |
5. |
Paris/de Gaulle
(CDG) |
6.098 |
6. |
Cancun (CUN) |
5.754 |
7. |
Mexico City
(MEX) |
5.455 |
8. |
Incheon (ICT) |
4.765 |
9. |
Vancouver (YVR) |
4.422 |
10. |
Amsterdam (AMS) |
4.378 |
|
|
71.517 |
Accounted for 70 Percent of All U.S. - International Air Traffic
|
|
Passengers
(Millions) |
1. |
New York (JFK) |
25.287 |
2. |
Miami (MIA) |
19.208 |
3. |
Los Angeles
(LAX) |
17.118 |
4. |
Newark (EWR) |
11.462 |
5. |
Chicago (ORD) |
10.642 |
6. |
Atlanta (ATL) |
9.832 |
7. |
San Francisco
(SFO) |
9.351 |
8. |
Houston (IAH) |
8.728 |
9. |
Washington
Dulles (IAD) |
6.655 |
10. |
Dallas-Ft Worth
(DFW) |
6.009 |
|
|
124.293 |
Accounted for 61 Percent of All U.S. - International Air Traffic
|
|
Passengers (Millions) |
1. |
United Airlines
(UA/CO)* |
29.122 |
2. |
American
Airlines (AA) |
21.884 |
3. |
Delta Air Lines
(DL) |
20.054 |
4. |
US Airways (US) |
7.981 |
5. |
British Airways
(BA) |
6.656 |
6. |
Air Canada (AC) |
6.567 |
7. |
Lufthansa (LH) |
5.200 |
8. |
Jet Blue Airways
(JB) |
4.184 |
9. |
West Jet (WJ) |
3.590 |
10. |
Air France (AF) |
3.476 |
|
|
108.717 |
In the immediate future OTTI will publish the December 2012 U.S. Citizen Outbound report, which contains total monthly travel (all modes) to Canada and Mexico. See: http://www.tinet.ita.doc.gov/view/m-2012-O-001/index.html.