A combination of family connections, Florida thrill seekers, London shoppers, and even modest business travel saw most airlines adding flights
Global travel data provider OAG says that the market’s strength is supported by the nearly 40 pc increase in flights over the previous 10 years with numerous factors contributing to this growth. It says that one of the first long-haul markets to revive after the epidemic was the route from Western Europe to the United States of America. A combination of family connections, Florida thrill seekers, London shoppers, and even modest business travel saw most airlines adding flights back as soon as possible.
According to the press statement, OAG forecasts that in the summer of 2023 there will be over 111,400 scheduled flights from Western Europe to the United States, or 530 a day, and hopefully a comparable number of flights travelling the other way each day.
OAG says that in summer of the year 2000, 45 airlines operated scheduled flights across the Atlantic including some carriers no longer operating, such as CityBird and AOM French Airlines, and some airlines with obscure 5th Freedom traffic rights, such as Biman Bangladesh Airlines and Kuwait Airways. With little over 8,500 scheduled flights, or around 40 daily services, British Airways was the largest airline in operation in the summer of 2000.
Delta Air Lines came in second place, barely ahead of American Airlines. There are only 37 airlines operating in summer 2023 as a result of a combination of mergers in the United States, airline failures in Europe, consolidation in Central Europe, and the influence of airline alliances; however, the scope and size of their respective networks are significantly larger than in the summer of 2000.
The ‘Big Three’ US carriers now dominate the market from a frequency viewpoint, with third-placed American Airlines operating over 60 pc more flights than the largest European-domiciled airline, British Airways.
OAG says that the rapid growth reported by United Airlines and Delta Air Lines is attributed to their mergers with Continental and Northwest who both had large operations to Europe, whereas US Airways, acquired by American Airlines, had one of the smaller networks. Most significantly, an ever-increasing network to the United States from Turkish Airlines has consistently been growing their operation and now offers over 4,000 flights in each summer, twenty flights a day compared to just twice daily in summer 2000.
At the turn of the century, OAG says, 99 pc of all scheduled flights were operated by wide-bodied aircraft with the B747 and B767 market leaders. The 1 pc of single aisle services were operated by Continental Airlines who were pioneering the development of some secondary European markets to Newark, whilst until Summer 2003 Concorde was still scaring the birds as it roared off the runway at London Heathrow.
In summer 2023, over 90 pc of services will be operated by twin-engine aircraft with the B777 accounting for over 22 pc of flights and the A330 a close second with a 20 pc share of the market. One in four flights are scheduled to be operated by new wide-bodied aircraft such as the A350 and B787. Innovation and technology have transformed the economics for many carriers, allowing for cheaper operating costs and of course lower emissions from new aircraft. And with that transformation in operating costs, new – previously marginal – routes have suddenly become possible, adds OAG.
OAG adds that airport pairs that have been dropped this summer compared to last year include low frequency services from the now closed Doncaster Airport to Melbourne Florida, and what was a very low frequency service from Belfast to Orlando. United Airlines appears to be leading the way opening a cluster of new routes this summer.
American Airlines meanwhile have added a Seattle to Heathrow service and a low frequency Paris to Charlotte service that will enhance connectivity to Florida. With more flights, strong demand, and capacity once again under pressure in many markets there is every reason to expect this summer to be a record revenue-producing period for airlines across the Atlantic. Whilst some carriers are expanding rapidly into smaller, thinner markets, others such as Lufthansa and British Airways are adopting more cautious approaches to frequencies operated.
