Can you check passenger numbers on a flight?

Question

Is there are way where you can check how many passengers that have been onboard a given flight?

Why is there such a big difference in price?

I have seen that there are several times per day where for instance the route Copenhagen- Aalborg is flown by both Norwegian, SAS and DAT. They all have departure times around the same time.

Answer

Information about passengers is protected by law and it would not be legal for a member of the public to gain access to this information.

The airline and the company in charge for the handling of the airline will have access to passenger lists and passenger data. Also authorities, like the intelligence agency, can have access to the data.

One of the main reasons that the data is not available to the public is to protect the individual passengers. Of course the information could also be valuable for other airlines for strategic and marketing purposes, so in general the information about passenger loads is considered classified.

It is not uncommon for several airlines to be flying the same route and it is unlikely a coincidence that the departure times are around the same time. Competition usually drives down the price for the consumer and agreements about ticket prices are, as far as we are aware, not something that is allowed for the airlines.

If you have got some spare time, you can maybe get a little idea of the passenger loads by closely following the ticket prices. Usually a really high ticket prices means that the flight is well booked. A very low price would usually mean that there is a lot of spare seats. The prices of flight tickets is usually a product of an algorithm considering a range of factors. Time is one of them. It is well know that flight tickets tend to be cheaper if you book them well in advance but for some, in particular, long haul flights around 60 days before the flight is usually where you can find the cheapest prices. Well, that is if you can be afford to be flexible and your flight doesn’t sell out. If you want to check the likely loads on the flights try to see (for each airline) if the prices are high or low just before departure. If you do this for all 3 airlines, you can get an indication of who has the most successful loads but the method is not bulletproof. Sometimes airlines run campains or strategically lower their prices.

Just a little comment regarding ticket prices. When you travel a lot you will most likely experience that things don’t go as planned it could either be your plans changing or for example bad weather or technical problems delaying the flight. In these case you may need some help or flexibility with your onwards travel. There can be quite a big difference from airline to airline in what options you have and what help you will get. The ticket types are not only about what kind of seat and service you get in flight but also about what kind of service you can expect if things don’t go as planned. On a short route like you have suggested (Copenhagen- Aalborg) the alternative to flying would most likely be ground transport as flying a different route to get to Aalborg would probably take longer time. So in this case it is probably more the flexibility to change your flight, getting a refund, baggage allowance, loyalty points, how the airline treats and pays it staff, type of plane, general financial situation of the airline etc. that is the reason behind the differences in price.

Happy landings

Ask A Pilot