Research Guides: Transportation Industries: Airline/Aviation Industry

Industry Metrics

Passenger Traffic - measured by Revenue passengers carried, RPM and passenger load factor
Load factor. Measures the percentage of available capacity that is taken up by revenue-paying passenger traffic. Compiled monthly by the ATA
Revenue Passengers Carried. Enplanements or the actual number of passengers carried.
Revenue passenger-miles (RPMs). Measures airline traffic by multiplying the total number of passengers carried by the number of miles flown.
Revenue Yield - measured by revenues per ASM or RPM
Available seat-miles (ASMs). Measures capacity by taking the total number of seats in the active fleet, multiplied by the number of miles flown.
Revenue passenger-miles (RPMs). Measures airline traffic by multiplying the total number of passengers carried by the number of miles flown. Industrywide RPM numbers are available monthly from the ATA.
Costs - examine labor, fuel, maintenance and aircraft financing
Cost per Available Seat Mile (CASM). Calculated by dividing the airline’s operating expenses by the total number of available seat miles produced.
Fuel Expenditures/Jet Fuel Prices. Including average fuel price per gallon, fuel consumed and fuel expenses. The IATA monitors world jet fuel prices.

These and other key airline performance measures are defined in the Glossary from the Airline Data Project.

Use the trade association websites of the Airlines for America and the IATA, The International Air Transport Association for industry surveys, forecasts and data

The U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics collects airline financial statistics, air travel statistics and general aviation statistics.

TRADE JOURNALS

LIBRARY DATABASES

ABI/INFORM Global
Find articles from trade journals and magazines, scholarly journals, and general interest magazines covering accounting, advertising, business, company information, industry Information, management, marketing, real estate, economics, finance, human resources, and international business.
Business Source Complete
Search over 3,000 business magazines and trade journals covering management, economics, finance, accounting, and international business.
Factiva
Provides global news, business, and financial information from newspapers, magazines, newswires, and trade journals. Includes information on companies and industries, and financial profiles. Try our search tutorial.

REPORTS/SURVEYS - LIBRARY DATABASES

IBISWorld
Type airline in the search box and select the relevant report.
Passport (Euromonitor)
Type airlines in the top search box, select "analysis" and limit by geographies (on left side), if desired.
S&P NetAdvantage
- Click on the "Research" tab
- In the "Keyword" search box, type: Airlines
- In the "Report Type" search box, select "Industry Overview"
- Click "Search"
- Select the "Airlines" Industry Overview"

REPORTS/SURVEYS-OTHER SOURCES