Americans who travel by air for leisure trips, by age 2019

In a 2019 Statista survey of U.S. adults, percent of respondents aged between 18 to 29 years old reported more than flights for private reasons in the past two years, compared to percent for people aged between 30 and 49. It appears there may be at least a little truth to the cliché of the Millennials who are obsessed with holidays. For both age groups the most common frequency of travel was flight for private reasons in the past 2 years, as reported by percent and percent respectively.

Leisure versus business

The above figures include flights for leisure purposes only, excluding business travel. Travel for leisure purposes comprises a larger portion of the U.S. air travel market than business travel, both in terms of the percentage of total trips and the overall contribution to the U.S. economy.

Overall industry growth

The appetite of young people to travel is one factor driving the sustained growth of U.S. airline industry. U.S. carriers have reported higher number of passengers every year for both domestic and international routes since 2009. Moreover, the number of leisure trips is growing much faster than the number of business trips.