Passengers Drop, Load Factors Soar

Domestic airlines last year served the fewest passengers since 2004, but recorded the most crowded planes ever, according to data released this week by the Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

BTS said nearly 40 million fewer domestic and international passengers took to the skies on U.S. carriers last year than in 2008, marking the lowest annual total since 2004.

However, thanks to dramatic year-over-year capacity cuts of 6.3 percent in 2009 for domestic and international services, the U.S. industry's aggregate 81.1 percent annual load factor is the highest on record.