If the skies—and your flight—seem a bit crowded, it may be because Americans are flying in record numbers. The Department of Transportation counted 823 million of us in the air last year, the most ever.
That number is the most ever, beating a record of 798 million set only last year, and shows a 3.1% rise. That's a strong comeback from 2009, when the recession dropped traffic to 704 million.
As for the crowding: the airlines have put a lot of effort into increasing available seats, but not beyond what they hope to sell. So last year, 83.4% of the seats were full, compared to 73.5% in 2003. You had lots of company.
The breakdown by destination shows 719 million domestic passengers and 104 million passengers with international destination or origin.
Despite all that, DOT says, the airlines did better on service, with the fewest canceled flights, the least bumping of oversold passengers and the fewest mishandled bags in decades.
Fares have also dropped in the last two years. Fares including ancillary fees, but without taxes, averaged $399.11 in 2014, according to the Transportation Department. The figure dropped to $386.11 in 2015 and $371.79 during the first half of last year.
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