OAG says that the average daily capacity over the year was 16.58 million seats, making August 11 12 pc busier than the average travel day
Aviation data collection and analysis firm OAG says that while January 21 was the slowest day of the year 2023, in terms of passenger traffic, for the global aviation industry, August 11 was the busiest, with total seat capacity of 18.59 million, ahead by over 4.62 million or 33 pc of the capacity on January 21 that was 13.97 million seats.
OAG says that the average daily capacity over the year was 16.58 million seats, making August 11 12 pc busier than the average travel day.
In terms of the most popular air routes OAG says New York JFK to London Heathrow, with the British capital featuring in four of the top 10 routes, in terms of available seat kilometres.
- New York JFK – London Heathrow, 21.471 billion
- London Heathrow – Singapore, 19.461 billion
- LAX – London Heathrow, 19.179 billion
- Dubai – London Heathrow, 16.349 billion
- LAX – Taiwan, 12.939 billion
- San Francisco – Taiwan, 12.912 billion
- New York JFK – LAX, 12.876 billion
- Seoul Incheon – LAX, 12.754 billion
OAG says the shortest flight route of 2023 is a twice-weekly flight operated by Air Kiribati. The flight from Tarawa (TRW) to Abaiang (ABF) in Kiribati, in the Pacific, is just 26 nautical miles with a flight time of 15 minutes.
The world’s longest flight this year was Singapore Changi to New York JFK, coming in at 8,279 nautical miles and operated daily by Singapore Airlines.
Top Airlines of 2023
OAG says that the largest airline in the world in 2023 was the American carrier Southwest, with 6,250 flights and 619 billion ASKs. The carrier operated 9 pc more ASKs than its closest rival for the top spot, American Airlines.
It adds that the fastest growing airline of the year was Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific which saw the highest percentage increase in flights 2023 over 2022. The number of flights is up by 137 pc from 31,661 flights in 2022 to 75,161 in 2023. However, Cathay still had some way to go toward recovery and by the end of 2023, its flights are still 28 pc below 2019 levels, says OAG.
It adds that the total global capacity for the year has not quite recovered to the levels seen pre-pandemic and it is expected to close at 5.5 billion seats, about 3.7 pc lower than in 2019. It adds that strides were made in 2023 as those countries still maintaining travel restrictions through 2022 started to ease the rules.
It says that in terms of the most recovered airline compared to pre-pandemic flights is Southern Airways Express, a small US commuter airline based out of Memphis. This year it operated 156 pc of its 2019 flights, with 86,000 flights scheduled in 2023 or 235 flights per day.
OAG adds that to give this number context, Southwest Airlines, the biggest airline in the world in terms of flights, operates 6,250 daily flights.
Similarly, the most recovered airport of the top 100 largest airports by seat volume was Bogota, Colombia’s largest airport, where capacity for 2023 is 16 pc above the level of 2019.
Across the world in China, Shanghai Airport (PVG) has added the most routes of any airport this year compared to last year, a reflection of China’s gradual re-opening to the world, says OAG. In 2019 there were 236 routes, dipping to 185 in 2022. In 2023 54 routes were added, bringing the total to 239, above pre-pandemic levels.
