- Over 5,000 more international flights to and from North America versus July 2004
- Over 3,000 more international flights to and from Latin America
- 370,000 additional transatlantic seats
- Domestic demand flattens out
- Low cost sector continues to grow
According to the latest figures from OAG, the global content management company specializing in travel and transport, scheduled flights to and from North America continue to grow in July 2005. Over 5,000 additional intercontinental flights are scheduled this month versus July 2004. Flights to and from Latin America lead the way in the Americas with over 3,000 additional flights scheduled. Over the transatlantic, an additional 370,000 seats will be available.
These figures represent a six per cent increase in international seat capacity over July 2004, one percentage point above the worldwide average. Domestically, the 82 million available seats represent a three per cent increase over the same month last year. These statistics are provided in OAG’s latest Quarterly Airline Traffic Statistics, a quarterly snapshot of airline activity around the world. OAG collates data daily from more than 1000 scheduled airlines to provide an overview of anticipated flight schedules versus historical trends. 'These figures uphold the trend reported last quarter that there is an upturn in the carriers’ focus on international flights,” says Joe Laughlin, vice president of sales and service for OAG. The 82 million domestic seat capacity is still well below July 2001’s total of 88.5 million, while the international figure is nearly one million ahead of the total available seats of five years ago. 'It’s a small but significant increase,' says Laughlin. 'The world’s commercial air transport industry has a large dependency on North America. The fact that carriers are adding lift from the region is a clear signal of industry confidence.' Domestically, the low cost sector will provide almost 6,500 additional flights, representing 1.1 million additional seats versus July 2004. With over 150,000 low cost flights each month, there are still more low cost flights in North America than in the rest of the world combined. - ENDS - For further information or more detailed OAG statistical analysis on capacity trends please contact Gina Gesmond at 312/970-5829 or gina.gesmond@slackbarshinger.com.
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