The Definitive Source for

Airline Industry Statistics

1 The Definitive Source for Airline Industry Statistics

TABLE OF CONTENTS
3 Aviation Is a Fast-Paced Industry 7 Take Advantage of Deeper Insight

4 Gaining Value From Air Transport Statistics 8 Contact Us

5 Statistics Products Portfolio

2 The Definitive Source for Airline Industry Statistics

Aviation Is a Fast-Paced Industry
A single airport may handle upwards of 100 million passengers and
more than 5 million tonnes of cargo over the course of one year.

Anticipating industry shifts is essential for making smart business

decisions, but companies and consultants lack the bandwidth to track
an overwhelming number of variables: aviation traffic, capacity, demand, In 2017 alone, over 4 billion
flight numbers, airport numbers, and more. Such a massive undertaking passengers traveled through
requires a specialized, dedicated team of statisticians and analysts. 1,202 major international
airports. The air transport
As the air transport industry’s service organization, IATA is positioned to
industry moves at a
track and report this data. We produce a range of reports that deliver
the most current insights on both month-to-month trends and long-term breathtaking pace, and it
industry shifts. only continues to grow.

Scheduled Passengers-Kilometers Flown:

#1 International Emirates 288,886 million

#1 Domestic American Airlines 204,103 million

#1 Total American Airlines 323,968 million

Scheduled Freight Tonnes-Kilometers Flown

#1 International Emirates 12,715 million

#1 Domestic Federal Express 8,811 million

#1 Total Federal Express 16,851 million

3 The Definitive Source for Airline Industry Statistics

Gaining Value From Air Transport Statistics
Businesses that seek to build and maintain a competitive edge take a data-driven approach to decision-making. We
provide statistics that span the entire industry, from the incredibly in-depth WATS report to up-to-the-minute snapshots
of monthly statistics and the forward-looking passenger forecast. The data tells industry stories at both regional and
aggregate levels, in turn outlining the industry’s future.

Our statistics team gathers data directly from airlines and organizes it into digestible, highly useful reports that detail the
state of the aviation industry at any given point — past, present, and future.

The reports layer broad spectrum economics onto the raw data. Each report dives into and breaks down this
desegregated data at regional and aggregate levels to explain why trends and shifts move up, down, or sideways. We
equip you with the information to decode what those shifts may mean for your business and how you can best respond.

Top Airport (Passengers) Top Airport (Freight)

Atlanta (ATL) handled the Hong Kong (HKG) handled
most total passengers in 2017 at the most cargo in 2017 at
103,902,992 5,049,898
a 0.3% decrease from 2016 a 9.4% increase from 2016

4 The Definitive Source for Airline Industry Statistics

Statistics Products Portfolio
WATS Report
Our World Air Transport Statistics, or WATS, report is the
aviation industry’s annual yearbook: a detailed snapshot
of the previous year. The report is both broad and deep,
encompassing everything from granular safety and
security reporting to global overviews of major shifts in
financial and environmental trends.
In addition, it documents airline and airport rankings and
describes how various factors have influenced those
statistics. Simply put, it is the most comprehensive
gathering of information on the air transport industry.
More than 270 international airlines
contribute to the report.
Monthly Statistics
If the WATS report is the industry’s yearbook, then the
Monthly Statistics report is its newsletter. Industry data
can be volatile from month to month, so we publish a
monthly report to separate out the signal of real change
from the static of regular market fluctuations.
The Monthly Statistics report is the only monthly source
for real-time statistics markets across the aviation
industry. It includes numbers for both passenger and
freight transport: necessary information for asset
management, logistics, and market intelligence.
We collect data directly from more than 130 international
carriers in order to more precisely compare individual
carrier performances across several segments. These
numbers represent 90 percent of traffic across the globe:
essential data for measuring a range of interests when
investing or consulting in various markets.
5 The Definitive Source for Airline Industry Statistics
The WATS report is a crucial tool for airlines, consultants,
and associations whose businesses depend on
understanding the industry’s performance. The data it
contains is specific to IATA, because we receive detailed
performance figures and statistics from our members:
more than 270 international airlines. This report facilitates
the collection and analysis of such wide-ranging data.
By using the data contained in each year’s WATS report,
companies can quickly identify their most advantageous
growth opportunities while improving customer service
and retention.
Passenger Forecasts
Combining proprietary data from IATA and Oxford
Economics along with additional global statistics and
models, we generate Passenger Forecast reports that
identify which trends will dominate the industry over the
next 20 years. The forecast is available as a web tool,
allowing access to several easy-to-use resources to
adjust metrics and map facilities while running through
different scenarios according to individual needs.
In addition to raw expectations such as flight data, these
reports also plan on factors outside the industry, including
demographic and environmental trends across the world.
Passenger Forecasts allow users to plan for the most
plausible future developments and make contingencies
for the most likely alternatives; they are crucial resources
for long-term strategic planning and development.
Statistics That Matter Most
REPORT FREQUENCY
World Air Transport
Annually
Statistics
Monthly Statistics Monthly
Passenger Forecasts Biannually
Businesses connected to the air transport industry
— airlines, airports, consultancies, leasers, financial
analysts — use this data to make informed, meaningful
decisions. The intelligence they provide is needed to craft
business development plans, steer strategy and product
development, and guide financial decisions.
Comprehensive historical data is necessary for future
forecasting, though it lacks the immediacy of current
statistics. Frequent statistical updates are essential
for short-term decision-making but can be misleading
unless they are put in context with panoramic historical
6 The Definitive Source for Airline Industry Statistics
DELIVERY COVERAGE
PDF, Excel spreadsheet,
Historical data
or hard-copy book
Excel spreadsheet Current data
Web download Predictive data
data. Finally, industry data requires the context of global
influences such as demographic and environmental shifts.
Taken together, IATA’s various statistics reports allow you
to parse the narratives emerging from complex data sets.
WATS data provides a foundation of historical data on
which to build insight from Monthly Statistics; these in
turn give context for the vast array of information available
in the Passenger Forecasts. Each is useful separately, but
when combined, these reports furnish a wide range of
raw data sets that can be adapted for any use.
Take Advantage of Deeper Insight
Our forward-looking reports are unique because we layer
demographic and environmental data on top of standard
airline transport forecasting. In all three reports, our airline
data is comprehensive. Our forecasts go even further,
compiling information on aging populations, growing and
shrinking middle classes, and the effects of climate change
in different regions across the globe. As a set, these reports
provide a comprehensive view of the industry and a level of
insight that cannot be found elsewhere.
For example, most of the industry recognizes that
many countries — such as India, Turkey, Brazil, Nigeria,
Colombia, and others — are experiencing growth in their
middle classes. And industry members can somewhat
We provide a level of insight that
cannot be found elsewhere.
7 The Definitive Source for Airline Industry Statistics
anticipate the demographic benefits in those and
similar regions. However, many other countries face
demographic changes in the opposite direction, including
Japan, Italy, and much of Western Europe.
Economic development, or the lack thereof, strongly
influences passenger and freight air travel. Traditional
economic studies alone won’t account for how these
variations impact an industry that spans the globe,
operating simultaneously in all these regions. The IATA
forecasting framework allows accurate preparation for
pending population shifts in every market in which you’re
invested.
 Contact the Statistics Team
to Learn More
Contact the World Air Traffic Statistics team by
emailing bis@iata.org to learn how we can help you
navigate the fast-paced, ever-changing air transport industry
and choose the suite of 2018 reports that fits your needs.

8 The Definitive Source for Airline Industry Statistics