BTS data shows passengers numbers up 1.6%

The US Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported that US airlines carried 55.3 million scheduled systemwide passengers in January 2013, 1.6% more than in January 2012. The systemwide increase was the result of a 1.5% increase in the number of domestic passengers (47.8 million) and a 2.3% increase in international passengers (7.5 million). BTS also reported the system load factor of 78.8%, the domestic load factor of 78.9% and the international load factor of 78.8% were record highs for the month of January.