Skift Take

International air traffic remains relatively similar when compared month-to-month; however, slight increases lead to year-end records that spur tourism development.

More than 150 million travelers flew into and out of the United States through the first nine months of 2014, a seven percent increase over the same period last year, according to data released by the National Travel and Tourism Office.

U.S. citizen travel accounted for 67.6 million passengers, 45 percent of all U.S. air traffic, and an increase of eight percent over last year. Non-U.S. citizen traffic accounted for 83.3 million air travelers, 55 percent of all traffic, and a seven percent increase over last year.

Every month, the Office of Travel & Tourism Industries releases data regarding recent travel activity, including details about international air passenger traffic to and from the United States. This is the most recent month for which this information is available. For statistics on international air traffic in July 2014, see here.

Similar to August, U.S. carriers account for slightly more market share, 52 percent, than foreign carriers, 48 percent. Again, passenger growth on foreign carriers (+10 percent) exceeded growth seen on U.S. airlines (+4 percent).

The largest markets for air traffic to and from the U.S. are Europe and Asia, which combined account for 44 percent of all international traffic.

The markets that experienced the largest growth in the first eight months of 2014 versus 2013 were the Middle East and Central America.

Overseas Regions Passengers (mlns) % of all International % Change 2014 / 2013
Europe 44.1 29% 5.2%
Asia 22.4 15% 6%
Caribbean 16.2 11% 8.2%
South America 11.2 7% 3.6%
Central America 8 5% 10.9%
Middle East 6 4% 16.5%
Oceania 3.3 2% 0.9%
Africa 1.1 1% 0.90%

A little more than a quarter, or 26 percent, of international traffic is between the U.S. and Mexico or Canada.

Air traffic between the U.S. and Canada performed as follows:

Canada Region Passengers (mlns) % Chg y-o-y Market Share
U.S. Citizens 5.9 8.6% 28.4%
Non-U.S. Citizens 15 6.6% 71.6%

Air traffic between the U.S. and Mexico performed as follows:

Mexican Region Passengers (mlns) % Chg y-o-y Market Share
U.S. Citizens 11.2 13.3% 63.1%
Non-U.S. Citizens 6.6 8.7% 36.9%
smartphone

The Daily Newsletter

Our daily coverage of the global travel industry. Written by editors and analysts from across Skift’s brands.

Have a confidential tip for Skift? Get in touch

Tags: skiftstats, usa

Photo credit: Terminal 4 at JFK International Airport in New York, New York. Doug Letterman / Flickr

Up Next

Loading next stories