Economics & Energy

ATA Monthly Passenger Yield

Fares vs. Yields

ATA does not collect or report airline fare information. ATA does collect passenger yield information. "Yield" is the average price someone pays to fly one mile (excluding government taxes and fees, which often constitute a substantial portion of an airline ticket). Passenger yield data, which ATA reports monthly by geographic region, serves as one indicator of recent U.S. airline market/pricing trends.

Data Sample

The ATA report relies on data from seven U.S. airlines* and their regional affiliates. The results are not adjusted for inflation or trip length. The data is based on 100% of scheduled service and reflects all "revenue" passengers, including those redeeming frequent flyer miles ($0 fare) for award travel. Results for a given month are typically available 22 days thereafter and are subject to restatement.

Yield (¢ per Mile)
Excl. Taxes
2009
DOMESTIC* ATLANTIC LATIN PACIFIC
¢/RPM % Change ¢/RPM % Change ¢/RPM % Change ¢/RPM % Change
January 14.00 (3.5) 11.98 (7.5) 14.96 2.1 12.16 (1.4)
February 13.51 (8.8) 11.54 (10.7) 13.34 (2.3) 11.45 (2.9)
March 13.34 (14.0) 10.53 (14.4) 12.73 (10.4) 11.40 (4.5)
April 13.43 (10.7) 9.93 (21.9) 12.77 (8.0) 10.28 (17.3)
May 12.71 (16.2) 9.94 (24.0) 11.95 (16.6) 10.26 (17.9)
June 12.93 (18.9) 10.82 (25.2) 11.91 (21.8) 9.64 (25.5)
July 13.20 (14.7) 11.12 (22.8) 12.19 (21.5) 9.70 (27.5)
August 13.14 (14.0) 10.70 (24.3) 12.62 (19.8) 11.25 (24.4)
September 13.26 (16.6) 10.82 (22.5) 12.47 (21.4) 10.96 (19.7)
October 13.69 (12.5) 11.63 (14.4) 12.80 (17.3) 10.69 (17.8)
November 14.47 (4.6) 12.07 (8.2) 13.36 (11.5) 10.88 (14.9)
December 14.11 (1.9) 11.81 2.3 14.44 (6.9) 11.04 (8.4)
2009 YTD 13.45 (11.8) 11.00 (17.8) 13.02 (12.6) 10.80 (15.8)

*Alaska, American, Continental, Delta (incl. NWA), JetBlue, United, US Airways and their regional affiliates

Note: Changes shown are year-over-year comparisons, which are significantly more useful than month-to-month comparisons. An RPM is one revenue (paying) passenger flown one mile.

Click here for historical yield data, by region, from Jan-00 to Dec-07.

Yield (¢ per Mile)
Excl. Taxes
2008
DOMESTIC* ATLANTIC LATIN PACIFIC
¢/RPM % Change ¢/RPM % Change ¢/RPM % Change ¢/RPM % Change
January 14.51 6.7 12.95 10.2 14.65 6.4 12.34 11.2
February 14.82 4.2 12.92 5.2 13.65 2.0 11.79 12.6
March 15.51 5.7 12.31 3.6 14.20 4.2 11.94 8.3
April 15.04 4.0 12.71 10.4 13.88 2.5 12.42 9.3
May 15.17 5.1 13.08 6.1 14.33 7.7 12.50 8.3
June 15.94 6.5 14.47 2.2 15.23 11.1 12.95 8.0
July 15.48 5.9 14.40 7.5 15.53 12.9 13.38 10.8
August 15.28 4.9 14.13 10.9 15.73 16.2 14.88 13.0
September 15.90 11.3 13.96 8.2 15.88 21.8 13.64 6.9
October 15.65 6.3 13.58 7.7 15.47 19.1 13.00 6.7
November 15.17 (0.2) 13.14 4.8 15.10 10.3 12.79 4.9
December 14.38 (1.3) 11.54 (4.8) 15.50 3.7 12.06 (0.6)
2008 15.25 4.9 13.38 6.1 14.89 9.2 12.83 8.2

*Alaska, American, Continental, Delta (incl. NWA), JetBlue, United, US Airways and their regional affiliates

 

Last Modified: 1/19/2010

*Scheduled Mainline Services -- 7 Airlines*

 

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