US: Airline traffic rose 3.4% in 2017 to all-time high, government says

The US DoT said Thursday that airlines carried 3.4% more passengers on US domestic and international flights in 2017 for an all-time high of 965m passengers. The government said international travel rose 4.8% in 2017 to 223.4m passengers, also a record, and foreign airlines carried 6.1% more passengers last year on US-bound and departing flights. Carriers transported 741.6m passengers on US domestic flights in 2017, up 3%. Southwest led all carriers again with 157.7m passengers on US flights, up 3.9%, followed by Delta, which rose to second with 145.6m passengers, up 1.8%, followed by American Airlines Group with 144.9m. United, despite a controversy involving a passenger dragged out of his seat at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport in April 2017, reported a 7.1% increase to 107.2m passengers. The four largest US carriers accounted for 58% of total passengers in 2017.<br/>