Global airline capacity for January 2010 shows positive growth compared to January 2009, reports OAG (www.oagaviation.com) the world’s leading aviation data business with its monthly report on trends in the supply of airline flights and seats. This growth marks the fifth consecutive month in which airline capacity has shown growth, with 294.6 million available seats this month, an increase of 3% over January 2009. Global frequencies are up 2% compared to January 2009, with a total of 2.37 million flights scheduled for January 2010. Worldwide, frequency and capacity in the low-cost sector are up by 10% compared to a year ago.

“As they should be, the airlines are cautious about the early signs of recovery and gradually increasing their capacity in the marketplace. It is a wise strategy, which should help them manage better yields as the economy recovers,” said Mario Hardy, Vice President Asia Pacific, OAG Aviation. “This is of note in Asia, as frequency and capacity both into and within the region are showing continued increases,” Hardy continued.

The North American region reflects a combination of decline and growth. Within North America, there is a reduction of 22,826 flights (2.7%) and 2,454,469 fewer seats (2.8%). However, frequency and capacity to and from the region show a positive growth of 3% in flights (2,347) and positive growth of 1% in seats (230,554). Flights to and from Europe show increases compared to January 2009, with 5% more flights and 3% more seats. Latin America, Asia, South/Central America, the Middle East and Africa are also showing increases in frequency and capacity.

Analysis of major routes reveals that while certain routes are experiencing positive growth, others continue to decline. Frequency and capacity between Western Europe and the Middle East reflect an increase of 7%, with 1002 more flights and 194,307 more seats compared to January 2009.

Routes between Western Europe and Africa show healthy growth, with 3,887 more flights (increase of 19%) and 690,790 more seats (18% increase). Showing decline is the transatlantic market between North America and Western Europe, with a 5% decrease in seats (287,979). Frequencies are down 6%, with 1,274 fewer flights for the month.

A hubs analysis reveals that Dubai has the biggest growth, with a 17% increase in frequency and capacity compared to January 2009. Singapore Changi shows a 6% increase in flight frequency (1,235 flights) and a 3% increase in capacity (131,971 seats). New York JFK shows a reduction in both flights and seats with 9% and 4% decreases respectively. Chicago O’Hare also shows a 3% reduction in seats, while gaining a marginal increase in flights (1%).

GLOBAL AIRLINE CAPACITY SHOWS POSITIVE GROWTH FOR THE FIFTH CONSECUTIVE MONTH, REPORTS OAG, AS JANUARY FIGURES ARE RELEASED

Figure 1:  Global Seat Capacity

Frequencies are also up compared to January 2009. The world’s airlines have scheduled a total of 2.37 million flights for January 2010, an increase of 2% compared with the same month last year.

Figure 2: Global Flight Frequency

Analysis by Region
Flights to and from Europe show a positive growth compared to January 2009, with 5% more flights and 3% more seats. Flight schedules within the region continue to decline, with 2% (8,825) fewer flights.  However, capacity in the region shows a marginal increase of 1% (377,416) more seats.

The North America region reflects a combination of decline and growth.  Figures reveal that within North America there will be a reduction of 22,826 flights (2.7%) and 2,454,469 fewer seats (2.8%).  However, frequency and capacity to and from the region shows a positive growth of 3% (2,347 more flights) and 1% (230,554 more seats) respectively. 

Latin America continues to experience growth in air service within the region, with 206,569 flights scheduled; this reflects an increase of 7% (12,697 more flights).  Capacity also shows a positive growth of 10%, an increase of 1.9 million more seats compared to January 2009.

Operations to and from Central and South America reflect an increase of 6% in frequency and 5% in capacity year on year.

The low cost sector to and from this region continues to see a good growth with 46% (2424) more flights and also 46% (351,405) more seats.  Low cost within the region also continues to rise with 26% (9093) more flights and 25% (1.2million) more seats compared to January last year.

Figures for Asia show an increase in traffic to and from the region and also within. Intra-regionally, frequency and capacity is up by 7% (34,851 more flights and 5.5 million more seats) compared with January 2009.  For services to and from the region, there is an increase of 6% in flights and 5% in capacity. 

Figure 3: Seat Capacity within Asia Pacific

The Middle East region continues to show a positive upward trend. Flights and capacity for travel to and from the region both show a strong increase of 12%, with a frequency of 48,034 and seat capacity of 10.3 million for January 2010. The number of flights and seats offered within the region are also scheduled to rise by 24% and 28% respectively, with 43,940 flights on offer and a seat capacity of 6.7 million.

Figure 4: Flight Frequencies within the Middle East

Africa continues to experience good growth with traffic to and from the region reflecting an increase of 18% in both frequency and capacity; there will be 5,470 more flights and 1 million more seats on offer in January 2010.  Air service in the region is showing an upturn year on year with a 2% rise in the volume of flights and 6% more seat capacity.

Hubs 
Analysis of major hub activity for January 2010 reveals that Dubai reflects the biggest growth with an impressive 17% increase in both frequency and capacity.  Frequencies are scheduled to increase by 3,041 with an additional 749,769 seats on offer.

In Africa, Nairobi shows positive growth with 9% more flights and 11% more seats on offer. Latin America’s Sao Paulo also shows a healthy increase in both frequency and capacity with 16% more flights and 18% more seats.

Singapore Changi shows a 6% increase in flight frequency (1,235 flights) and a 3% increase in capacity (131,971).  In the same region, Manila also shows a growth with  a scheduled frequency increase of 8% (1,332) and capacity increase of 14% (360,571) seats for January 2010.

In North America, Chicago O’Hare shows a marginal increase in the number of flights (1%) but a reduction of 3% in the number of seats. New York JFK however has a reduction in both flights and seats with 9% and 4% decreases respectively.  

Amsterdam Schiphol has a 5% reduction in frequency and 4% reduction in capacity; London Heathrow follows the trend and shows a 2% drop in both frequency and capacity.

Low Cost Carriers
When looking at the global figure of all scheduled passenger flight operations below, the low cost sector accounts for 445,275 (19%), with 65.9 million seats (22%).  Worldwide frequency and capacity in the Low Cost sector are up by 10% each compared to a year ago. 

Figure 5:  Global Low Cost Carrier Seat Capacity

Major Routes
Frequency and capacity between Western Europe and the Middle East reflect an increase of 7%, with 1,002 more flights and 194,307 more seats compared with January 2009.

The route between Western Europe and Africa shows a healthy 19% and 18% increase, with 3,887 more flights and 690,790 more seats.   

The transatlantic market between North America and Western Europe continues to show a decrease, with 287,979 (5%) fewer seats.  Frequencies are down 6%, representing 1,274 fewer transatlantic flights for the month.

Services between North America and Central/South America are up compared to a year ago, with 7% more flights and 6% more capacity between the regions.

Airlines operating transpacific routes are scheduled to offer 15,398 fewer seats this month compared to a year ago. 

Carriers flying between Western Europe and Asia are showing a reduction, although marginal, in frequency and a 2% reduction in capacity, with 81,941 fewer seats.

Figure : To/From North America and Western Europe

OAG FACTS provides the latest data on current airline activity around the world, enabling you to see trends at-a-glance. Updated monthly, OAG FACTS uses interactive graphs to display a visual trend of the performance of a specific airport, route, country or region from 2001 - 2010.

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OAG FACTS enables you to see trends at-a-glance. An easy to use tool providing the latest data on current airline activity around the world. Updated monthly, it uses interactive graphs to display a visual trend of the performance of a specific airport, route, country or region from 2001 - 2009.