Passenger load factor: Difference between revisions

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{{short description|Capacity utilization of public transport}}

[[File:Passenger Capacity of different Transport Modes.png|thumb|Passenger capacity of different transport modes]]

[[File:Road Space Requirements.png|thumb|Road space requirements]]

'''Passenger load factor''', or '''load factor''', measures the [[capacity utilization]] of [[public transport]] services like [[airline]]s, [[passenger rail]]ways, and [[intercity bus service]]s. It is generally used to assess how efficiently a transport provider fills seats and generates [[fare]] [[revenue]].

According to the [[International Air Transport Association]], the worldwide load factor for the passenger airline industry during 2015 was 79.7%.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.iata.org/pressroom/pr/Pages/2016-02-04-01.aspx | title=Demand for Air Travel in 2015 Surges to Strongest Result in Five Years | publisher=[[International Air Transport Association]] | date=4 February 2016 | accessdateaccess-date=9 June 2016 | archive-date=16 January 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116232241/https://www.iata.org/en/pressroom/pr/2016-02-04-01/ | url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Overview==

Passenger load factor is an important parameter for the assessment of the performance of any transport system. Almost all transport systems have high fixed costs, and these costs can only be recovered through selling tickets.<ref>{{cite web|title=How I can use the load factor of an indicator for the profitability of an airline|url=http://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/041515/how-can-i-use-load-factor-indicator-profitability-airline-industry.asp|publisher=Investopedia|accessdateaccess-date=12 March 2016}}</ref> Airlines often calculate a load factor at which the airline will break even; this is called the break-even load factor.<ref>{{cite web|title=Airline Economics|url=http://www.avjobs.com/history/airline-economics.asp|publisher=AV Jobs|accessdateaccess-date=12 March 2016}}</ref> At a load factor lower than the break even level, the airline will lose money, and above will record a profit.

The environmental performance of any transport mode improves as the load factor increases. The weight of passengers is normally a small part of the total weight of any transport vehicle, so increasing the number of passengers changes the emissions and fuel consumption to only a small degree. As a vehicle is more highly loaded, the fuel consumed per passenger drops, and fully loaded transport vehicles can be very fuel efficient.

Very heavy loading of a transport vehicle areis described as a [[crush load]]. Crush loading is a very high level of loading where passengers are crushed against one another. Commenting in May 2017 on the [[United Express Flight 3411 incident]], in which a passenger was forcibly removed, investor [[Warren Buffett]] said that passenger demand for cheap flights was resulting in high load factors, resulting in "a fair amount of discomfort." <ref name="Buffett--Reuters">{{cite news|title=Warren Buffett Says United Made a 'Terrible Mistake'|url=http://fortune.com/2017/05/08/warren-buffett-united-terrible-mistake/|accessdateaccess-date=8 May 2017|work=Fortune|agency=Reuters}}</ref>

==Calculation example==

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==See also==

* [[Crush load]]

*{{Annotated link|Environmental impact of transport}}

*{{Annotated link|Headway}}

*{{Annotated link|Patronage (transportation)}}

*{{Annotated link|Route capacity}}

*{{Annotated link|Sustainable transport}}

==References==

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{{bus rapid transit}}

{{Public transport}}

{{Navbox Airlines of Australia}}

{{buses}}