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129 Per Cent Growth in Domestic Low Cost Flights says OAG - UK and Europe Media 18  December  2002

Figures published today (18 December 2002) by OAG, the world's leading independent source of flight information, indicate that the number of domestic low cost flights within the UK has increased by 129%, the equivalent of an additional 775 flights a week, during the last 12 months.  The figures are part of the first OAG quarterly report on global airline schedules.*

Low-cost flights internationally
According to the report, the number of low cost flights to and from the UK has increased by 73% or 1,773 flights, with low cost flights within Europe as a whole increasing by 119%.  This enormous growth is mirrored around the globe with low cost flights within the Pacific/Australasia region increasing by 121% and low cost flights between North and South America increasing by 98%.

Overall market and regional statistics
The total number of scheduled flights worldwide has increased by 5% or 24,544 flights a week, since December 2001, with international flights to and from the UK up 9% and the UK domestic market as a whole up 8%.   Globally, China has seen the largest growth, with flights to and from China increasing by 18%, a further 799 flights a week.

Key routes
Seat capacity has generally reflected the same trends year on year.  Notable exceptions are US domestic is down an additional 2%, capacity into and out of the UK down a further 3%, while UK domestic capacity has increased by 5% compared with a 3% increase in flights.

On the key transatlantic route, the number of flights has increased by 10%. Traffic between Heathrow and the US and Canada has increased by 16%, while the number of transatlantic flights to and from Gatwick has declined by -10%.   Flights between Western Europe and Asia Pacific have increased by 7%, with the number of flights between Tokyo and Western Europe increasing by 19%.

Hubs
Many of the world's major airports are showing increases in the number of flights.   The number of flights to and from Heathrow has increased by 2%, while flights to and from Gatwick have increased by 9%.  Tokyo Narita airport shows a significant growth of 40%.   In the US, some of the airports severely effected by September 11th are showing signs of recovery, for example New York JFK shows an increase of 21% and Washington Ronald Reagan an increase of 92%, since December 2001.

Lynne Fraser, marketing director of OAG data, commented: "The expansion of the low-cost sector around the globe is unprecedented.  The growth is coming from the introduction of new routes as well as additional flights on established routes.

More generally, it is encouraging to see that the number of flights worldwide and on key routes such as the transatlantic route, is continuing to increase after such a challenging year."                              

OAG collects the schedules of more than 900 airlines in a variety of formats and verifies, quality checks and processes them into a consistent format for distribution throughout the airline and travel industries.   Its database also includes cargo information.

The figures below show low-cost flights by region:

	10-16 Dec 01 vs. 9-15 Dec 02 Frequency Variance %
Low cost to/from UK Low cost within UK	73% 129%
Low cost within Europe	119%
Low within US Low cost within Canada Low cost within Latin America Low cost between North & South America	18% 54% 25% 98%
Low cost within Asia	26%
Lost within Pacific/Australasia	121%

 The figures below show international and domestic flights by region:

	10-16 Dec 01 vs. 9-15 Dec 02 Frequency Variance %
Worldwide	5%
To/from US/Canada US Domestics	10% 6%
To/from UK UK Domestic	9% 8%
To/from Europe Within Europe	9% 5%
To/from Central & South America Within Central & South America	11% 1%
To/from Asia Pacific Within Asia Pacific	7% 8%
To/from Africa Within Africa	7% -3%
To/From Middle East Within Middle East	4% 2%
To/from China Within China	18% 14%

The figures below show flights on a selection of the world's major routes:

	10-16 Dec 01 vs. 9-15 Dec 02 Frequency Variance %
Transatlantic
USA & Canada to/from Western Europe	10%
London Heathrow to/from USA & Canada	16%
London Gatwick to/from USA & Canada	-10%
Amsterdam to/from USA & Canada	17%
Paris Charles de Gaulle to/from USA &Canada	18%
Western Europe/Asia Pacific
Western Europe to/from Asia Pacific	7%
London (Heathrow & Gatwick) to/from Asia Pacific	6%
Tokyo to/from Western Europe	19%
Transpacific
USA/Canada to/from Asia Pacific	4%

The figures below show flights at a selection of the world's major airports:

	10-16 Dec 01 vs. 9-15 Dec 02 Frequency Variance %
To/from London Heathrow	2%
To/from London Gatwick	9%
To/from Amsterdam Schiphol	2%
To/from Paris Charles de Gaulle	9%
To/from Frankfurt	3%
To/from New York, JFK	21%
To/from Washington, Ronald Reagan	92%
To/from Chicago, O'Hare	10%
To/from Tokyo, Narita	40%

For further information or requests for interviews, please contact:

Clair Waldron/Fiona Chow at Brown Lloyd James
T:020 7591  9610        M: 07866 447732 or M: 07973 753 583
E: clairw@blj.co.uk      fionac@blj.co.uk

Notes to editors

*The OAG Quarterly Report on Global Airline Schedules

This is the first OAG quarterly report on global airline schedules, developed to provide a comprehensive snapshot of the current state of the air travel industry.  The data used in the report is taken from the OAG schedules database, the scale and quality of which is unmatched. Recognised for its accuracy, the OAG database is constantly updated and holds data on more than 900 airlines and over 1.4 million flight sectors.

The report identifies and compares the number of scheduled flights by region, on key routes and to and from major airports, for a particular week from year to year.  Future reports are planned for publication in March, June, September and December 2003. 

To obtain the full figures for the December 2002 report click here or contact Fiona Chow at Brown Lloyd James.