Who’s tops amongst airports and airlines through September of 2008? The Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (www.bts.gov) ranks Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta (ATL), not surprisingly, as the busiest airport in the land. When it comes to passengers, Southwest flies more people than any other airline.

Stats like this matter. They help flyers make choices, giving them an idea of what airports are most crowded; and what airlines are most popular.

Here’s the Bureau of Transportation’s rundown for the first nine months of this year:

Airports:
1) Atlanta (ATL)
2) Chicago O’Hare (ORD)
3) Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW)
4) Denver (DEN)
5) Los Angeles (LAX)
6) Las Vegas (LAS)
7) Phoenix (PHX)
8) Bush Houston Intercontinental (IAH)
9) Charlotte (CLT)
10) New York Kennedy (JFK)

Airlines, in terms of passengers boarded:

1) Southwest
2) American
3) Delta
4) United
5) US Airways
6) Northwest
7) Continental
8) AirTran
9) JetBlue
10) Skywest (which flies under Delta Connection colors)

Get more information about airlines in the Cheapflights.com Airline Index.

©Cheapflights Ltd Jerry Chandler

About the author

Jerry ChandlerJerry Chandler loves window seats – a perch with a 35,000-foot view of it all. His favorite places: San Francisco and London just about any time of year, autumn in Manhattan and the seaside in winter. An award-winning aviation and travel writer for 30 years, his goal is to introduce each of his grandkids to their first flight.

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