The number of passengers served by U.S. and foreign carriers operating in the U.S. reached 895.5 million in 2015, an increase of 5 percent and an all-time high.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the number of passengers on domestic flights increased 5 percent to 696.2 million, while passenger numbers on international flights came in just shy of 200 million, a 4.7 percent advance.
System-wide load factor held steady at 82.7 percent.
American Airlines carried the most passengers in 2015 of all carriers operating in the United States. The carrier had enplanements of 146.6 million in 2015, narrowly edging out Southwest Airlines, which had 144.6 million enplanements last year, according to BTS data. American Airlines also had the largest number of international scheduled enplanements, at 28.5 million. British Airways carried the most passengers on flights to and from the U.S. of any foreign airline, with 7.1 million enplanements.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL) was by far the leader among airports, based on enplaned passengers. ATL’s enplaned passengers reached 49.3 million in 2015, a 5.9 percent increase, the data showed. Los Angeles International (LAX) ranked second at 36.23 million enplanements (+5.7 percent), while Chicago O’Hare International (ORD) was third at 36.19 million enplanements (+7.3 percent). More passengers boarded international flights at New York’s John F. Kennedy International (JFK) than at any other U.S. airport. JFK had international enplanements of 14.46 million in 2015, a 5.4 percent gain.
