Figures published today (21 September 2003) by OAG, the world’s leading source of independent flight schedule information, indicate that the global airline industry is beginning to recover following a rollercoaster two 2 years which has seen it face a series of crises such as 9/11, the Iraq war and SARS. Worldwide scheduled flights are now at the same level as the same time last year. While some regions are back to, or above, pre 9/11 levels, the worldwide figures show a -5% drop compared with 2001 - largely driven by the continuing pressures facing the US industry, especially in the domestic market. The Asia Pacific region, on the other hand has shown healthy growth both year on year and compared to September 2001.The figures are part of the fourth OAG Quarterly Report on global airline schedules. * Overall market and regional statistics Worldwide, the number of scheduled flights is comparable with the same period in 2002 despite the decreases reported in the last quarter. Asia-Pacific has fought back strongly from the SARS crisis, recording a +10% growth year on year on flights to and from the region. China has seen a +21% growth in internal flights and flights to and from China are down just -3% year on year, compared to a -45% drop reported 3 months ago. The UK market continues to perform strongly with flights to and from the UK up +6% year on year. This follows on from the +4% increase year on year shown in the June Quarterly Report when the UK was one of the few areas to maintain growth, largely driven by a strong low-cost sector. The Middle East is also showing healthy growth of +10% year on year on flights to and from the region. Nearly 500 flights have been added compared with September 2002. The Americas as a whole continue to show the weakest recovery. Although US domestic flights are at the same level as September 2002 this is still -12% down on September 2001 levels. Within Central & South America flights are down -10% compared with September 2002. The slow recovery of the American market may explain why overall worldwide flight levels have failed to increase year on year despite the strong growth recorded in some areas of the global airline industry. Key routes Traffic between Western Europe and Asia Pacific is up +5% year on year or nearly 100 flights compared with September 2002. Certain Asia Pacific routes have been slower to recover: flights between Singapore Changi to and from Western Europe are down -3% and between Hong Kong and Western Europe scheduled flights are down -2% year on year. The transpacific routes continue to record losses in schedules following the devastating impact of the SARS virus. All key transpacific routes record a drop in scheduled flights. Flights between Hong Kong to and from the US and Canada are down -19% year on year, losing almost 10,000 seats. The US-Asia Pacific route is down -4% year on year, over 35,000 seats. Transatlantic traffic is beginning to pick up year on year, up +2% on September 2002. However, figures remain down -12% on September 2001 levels, over 700 fewer flights. Hubs Despite the main Asia hubs showing a drop in scheduled flights year on year, there has been a huge recovery in the last quarter. Singapore Changi appears to still be suffering from the impact of SARS, recording a –16% drop in scheduled flights year on year following the -35% drop year on year shown in OAG’s June figures. Tokyo Narita and Hong Kong airports record a -6% and -4% drop respectively. Key hubs in the US show a very mixed picture, with year on year variances ranging from +15% to -22%, reflecting how closely airlines are reviewing their business models and analysing profitability of individual routes. Low-cost flights internationally The low-cost sector has continued to perform strongly and should be credited with buoying up the industry in the last two years. Low cost flights within the Pacific Australasia region show a healthy growth of +50% year on year. Low cost flights within Europe continue to show the largest increase with nearly 4,500 more flights, up +62% year on year. Low cost flights to and from the UK also continue to climb with a year on year increase of +34%. Within the UK, flight levels have risen by +38%. Low-cost flights in the Americas are steadily on the rise. In the US domestic market, the number of low-cost flights has risen by +7% year on year, up +5% on pre 9/11 levels. The Canadian domestic market has shown significant growth, up +59% year on year. When compared with pre 9/11 data the phenomenal performance of the low-cost sector is even more apparent. Virtually all regions report incredible growth in the no-frills area. Low-cost flights within Europe are up +176% (over 7,500 flights); up 123% within Canada; up +272% within Pacific/Australasia and up +450% to and from Latin America compared to September 2001. Fred Seow, Vice President OAG Asia Pacific, commented: “ The OAG Quarterly Report shows that the airline industry is slowly but surely beginning to recover following the devastating catalogue of events and pressures of the last couple of years. The global economic and political factors have dented the confidence of many airlines; however, the general positive trends beginning to show through in our statistics indicate that the industry may at last have turned a corner.” OAG collects the schedules of more than 930 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. For further information or requests for interviews, please contact:
Christina Spykerman, OAG Singapore
T: +65 6396 5877 E: cspykerman@oag.com or Fiona Chow at Brown Lloyd James in the UK
T: +44 207 591 9610 E: fionac@blj.co.uk Notes to editors *The OAG Quarterly Report on Global Airline Schedules This is the fourth 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 930 airlines and over 1.5 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. The reports are published in March, June, September and December. To obtain the full figures for the September 2003 report click here
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