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

Scotiabank’s Konark Gupta says in a report that 3Q apart from the labor disruption, domestic was affected by lower yield and load factor.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 5, 2025

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

Power business naturally shows a still better load factor, say 35 per cent., and the all-night restaurant has a load factor of 48 per cent.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 1178, June 25, 1898 by Various