According to data presented by TradingPlatforms.com, the total operating revenue of all US airlines amounted to just $130B in 2020 - a 47% YoY decrease from 2019. 2020’s figure was the lowest recorded within the reporting period of 2004 - 2020.
Airlines from the US collectively registered a net loss of 24.6bn in 2020 a 256% decrease from 2019 when US airlines registered a combined net profit of $15.71bn. 2020’s net loss was an even greater contraction than the one felt during the recession of 2008 when net loss was at $18.17bn.
In 2019, US carriers handled an estimated 926 million passengers, made up of 811 million domestic passengers and an estimated 115 million international passengers. In 2020, the total number of passengers handled by US carriers dropped by over 60% to just 369 million.
Domestic travel dropped by almost half a billion passengers to just 335.35 million. The domestic passenger load factor was also the lowest in 2020 during the reporting period at just 58.86% compared to the high of 85.11% recorded in 2019.
An even bigger decline was seen in the number of international passengers that were handled by US carriers. In 2020 the number dropped by a staggering 90% to just 34 million passengers.