Next 11 weeks are expected to see a continuation of the trend for more capacity
The global airline capacity grew by just under 1 pc to 106.5 million seats this week, says a report by airline consultancy and analyst firm OAG, which adds with the addition of 1 million seats, the global capacity is just 3.2 pc lower than the corresponding week in 2019 and a robust 20 pc more than the same week last year.
OAG adds that the next 11 weeks are expected to see a continuation of the trend for more capacity, although capacity each week will remain below that operated in the same week in 2019.
It says that this week more than half a million seats have been added to global domestic airline capacity, bringing total domestic capacity to 66.2 million seats, an increase over last week of 0.8 pc. At current level, the global domestic capacity is currently 3.0 pc above the same week in 2019. It adds that the domestic capacity is expected to reach 70 million seats by early July.
Similarly, the number of international seats rose this week by 539,000 compared to last week, or a growth of 1.4 pc, adding that the total international airline capacity now stands at 40.3 million seats. It says unlike the domestic capacity, which has surpassed the pre-pandemic levels, the international capacity remains below the 2019 levels and is currently 12 pc lower in the corresponding period. However, OAG forecasts that the gap would be reduced each week for the next few months.
OAG adds that 10 of 17 regions now have capacity operating at a level higher than in 2019. The regions furthest behind in terms of recovery from the pandemic are Eastern Europe, which is 24.4 pc lower than 2019, Southern Africa that is 19.7 pc behind and South East Asia that is 16.1 pc lower.
OAG adds that the biggest changes this week in regional airline capacity have occurred in North East Asia, where airlines added 436,000 seats compared to last week, and in South East Asia where there are an extra 241,000 seats. In both instances the majority of extra capacity was added on domestic routes, but there were sizable international capacity additions.
It says that North East Asia’s international capacity is now 45 pc below where it was in this week in 2019. In Western Europe airlines added 185,000 seats to international schedules but domestic schedules were reduced by 71,000 seats. The Southwest Pacific also saw a sizeable reduction in domestic capacity this week with 80,000 fewer seats than last week.
