It’s crowded up there: Domestic flights filled to record level in June

The airline industry continues to squeeze domestic passengers into cabins at record rates while adding more seats for high-priced international flights, according to federal statistics released Monday.

The percentage of seats filled on domestic flights reached a record average of 87.4% in June, as airlines failed to add enough extra seats to keep pace with the growing demand for air travel, according to federal statistics released Monday.

In June, demand for domestic flights grew by 2.2%, but the nation’s airlines added only 1.7% in capacity, leading to more crowded cabins, according to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

The so-called load factor of 87.38% was the highest domestic rate on record, surpassing the previous high of 87.14% in July 2011, the federal agency said.

Meanwhile, the load factor for international flights dropped to 84.9% in June from 86.9% in June 2013, as demand for international flights only grew by 1.8% but airlines added nearly 5% of new capacity.

Crowded cabins and cramped seats were blamed for three flights that were diverted in the span of nine days recently after fights broke out among passengers over reclining seats.

The most recent incident took place Sept. 1, when a passenger on a Delta Air Lines flight from New York to Palm Beach, Fla., reclined her seat and hit a passengers who was resting her head on the tray table behind her. The resulting feud forced the pilot to land the plane in Jacksonville, Fla.

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