Passenger load factor

Passenger load factor, or load factor, measures the capacity utilization of public transport services like airlines, passenger railways, and intercity bus services.

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%.

[1] Passenger load factor is an important parameter for the assessment of the performance of any transport system.

[3] 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.

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.

"[4] Specifically, the load factor is the dimensionless ratio of passenger-kilometres travelled to seat-kilometres available.