load factor

American  

noun

1. the amount or weight of cargo, number of passengers, etc., that an aircraft, vehicle, or vessel can carry.

2. the percentage of available seats, space, or maximum carrying weight paid for and used by passengers, shippers, etc..

   An airline can't profit on a 40 percent load factor.

3. Electricity. the ratio of the average load over a designated period of time to the peak load occurring in that period.

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load factor British  

noun

1. the ratio of the average electric load to the peak load over a period of time

2. aeronautics

   1. the ratio of a given external load to the weight of an aircraft

   2. the actual payload carried by an aircraft as a percentage of its maximum payload

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Etymology

Origin of load factor

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

It reported a seat load factor of 83.2%, up from 83.1% a year earlier.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026

That was the first time in six quarters that load factor didn’t miss expectations, according to FactSet data.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 9, 2025

Bigger airplanes with fewer flights create a higher load factor, which leads to more delays impacting more passengers.

From Slate • Jun. 3, 2023

The company last month reported its airline load factor, a measure of the percentage of seats filled, rose to 84% in the second quarter, similar to pre-pandemic levels.

From Reuters • Aug. 26, 2022

The load factor of the plant ranged from 0.22 to 0.30, the load being almost entirely lighting, so that for the winter season the load factor reached the latter figure.

From Steam Turbines A Book of Instruction for the Adjustment and Operation of the Principal Types of this Class of Prime Movers by Collins, Hubert E. (Hubert Edwin)