UK flights returning to pre-September 11 levels, US flights still down but showing signs of improvement Figures published today (August 12, 2002) by OAG, the world's leading independent source of flight information, indicate that one year on from September 11 flights continue to recover. Worldwide there are only 4% fewer flights than pre-September 11. In the immediate aftermath of the atrocity the number of flights worldwide fell by 10% year on year. According to this month's (August) airline schedules, the US market continues to be the hardest hit with the number of flights to and from the US down 8% and domestic flights down 7%, compared with August 2001. However, this is a significant improvement on the figures immediately after the attacks when both international and domestic flights were down 16%. The UK market is faring better with flights to and from the UK down only 2% and domestic flights increasing by 3%. 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 there has been a dramatic reduction in flights. The overall number of flights between Western Europe and the US is down 13%. Flights from New York's JFK are still down 15%, while flights from Los Angeles are down 21%. Of the European airports, Heathrow and Frankfurt are now operating the same number of transatlantic flights as pre-September 11. The number of flights from Gatwick has declined by 20% as a result of carriers consolidating their services into Heathrow. OAG commented: "Clearly airlines have been operating in the most difficult circumstances over the last 12 months and this is reflected in the overall decline in the number of flights. The information the airlines provide to our database confirms that the US market is still the hardest hit, but the situation does appear to be slowly improving. "It is encouraging seeing that air traffic is increasing again and in some cases reaching pre-September 11 levels, particularly within regions. In the UK, the intense competition from low cost carriers may account for the increase in domestic flights." OAG collects the schedules of more than 850 airlines in a variety of formats, scrutinizes and processes them into a consistent format for distribution throughout the airline and travel industries. Its database also includes cargo information, which indicates that the number of cargo flights worldwide has declined by 3%. The number of flights to and from the US is down 6%. The number of flights to and from the UK is down 14%, but the tonnage capacity has actually increased by 2%.
The figures below show the effect on international and domestic traffic by region:
| 6-12 Nov 00 vs 5-11 Nov 01 Frequency Variance % | 6-12 Aug 01 vs 5-11 Aug 02 Frequency Variance % | | Worldwide | -10% | -4% | | US to/from Intl US Domestics | -16% -16% | -8% -7% | | UK to/from Intl UK Domestic | -5% 0% | -2% 3% | | Int'l to/from Europe Within Europe | -10% -5% | -5% -3% | | Int'l to/from AsPac Within AsPac | -7% -4% | 0% 1% | | Int'l to/from CSA Within CSA | -13% -8% | -1% -1% | | Int'l to/from AME Within AME | -11% -2% | -1% 1% | Int'l = International AsPac = Asia Pacific CSA = Central & South America AME = Africa & Middle East The figures below show the effect on transatlantic traffic at five of the major European hubs and three major US airports: | 6-12 Nov 00 vs 5-11 Nov 01 Frequency Variance % | 6-12 Aug 01 vs 5-11 Aug 02 Frequency Variance % | | US to/from Western Europe | -18% | -13% | | London Heathrow to/from US | - 8% | 0% | | London Gatwick to/from US | - 19% | -20% | | Amsterdam Schiphol to/from US | -10% | -5% | | Paris Charles de Gaulle to/from US | -20% | -9% | | Frankfurt to/from US | -10% | 0% | | New York, JFK to/from Western Europe | -32% | -15% | | Chicago, O'Hare to/from Western Europe | -15% | -20% | | Los Angeles to/from Western Europe | -22% | -21% |
For further information or requests for interviews, please contact:
UK
Clair Waldron/Fiona Chow at Brown Lloyd James
T:020 7591 9610
M: 07866 447732 or M: 07940 560175
USA
Dana Kessler at Slack Barshinger
T: 312-970-5805
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