4 July 2005 China's Travel Demand Fuels Asia-Pacific Airline Growth - Over 4.5 million additional seats within Asia versus July 2004
- China's domestic capacity up 14 per cent, nearly 2 million additional seats
- Over 8,000 new low cost flights added
Over 4.5 million seats have been provided within the Asian market versus July 2004. China has reinforced its position as the engine room of Asia-Pacific travel growth, according to latest figures from aviation industry analysts OAG. The world's airlines are providing more than 24 million seats to, from and within China this month, 16 million of which will start to satisfy the country's growing demand for domestic travel. "That's a full 14 per cent more than July last year," says Fred Seow, vice president OAG Asia, "and nearly double the July 2001 figure. The nearly eight million tickets on offer for flights to and from China compares with just 5.5 million five years ago." The statistics are provided in OAG's latest Quarterly Airline Traffic Statistics, a quarterly snapshot of airline activity around the world. OAG collates data from more than 1000 scheduled airlines, on a daily basis, to give an overview of anticipated travel demand versus historical trends. While airline capacity on routes to, from and within China are showing double-digit growth, the Asia-Pacific region as a whole is growing more steadily. The number of seats on offer to and from the region (nearly 11.3 million) is six per cent higher than in July last year - the average worldwide increase is five per cent - while capacity within the Asia Pacific region (66.7 million seats) is up seven per cent. The Asia-Pacific low-cost sector, however, is booming. The number of low-cost flights to, from and within the region has increased by 40% with an additional 8,000 flights. There are now over 4 million low cost seats available in Asia versus just over 600,000 four years ago. "Full-service airlines in the region have an enviable reputation, repeatedly winning global awards and accolades," says Seow, "but their low-cost rivals are certainly beginning to make their presence felt."
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