The formula
Load factor = RPK ÷ ASK × 100
For a single flight: paying passengers ÷ seats × 100.
Example
A 180-seat aircraft flies 1,000 km with 150 paying passengers.
- ASK = 180 × 1,000 = 180,000
- RPK = 150 × 1,000 = 150,000
- Load factor = 150,000 ÷ 180,000 ≈ 83.3%
How airlines use it
- By route and period, to see where demand is strong or weak and adjust capacity.
- By cabin, to balance premium and economy seats.
- By booking window, to see how flights fill up before departure.
- Against yield and RASK, because load factor alone doesn’t show whether the seats were sold profitably.
Load factor in Wireum Insights
Wireum Insights shows seat load factor by route, cabin class, date range and booking window, alongside ASK and RPK, yield and unit revenue.