Global Flight Levels Stabilise says OAG (Asia Pacific media)
12 December 2003
Figures published today (15 December 2003) by OAG, the world?s leading source of independent flight schedule information, indicate that the airline industry is beginning to stabilise following an unprecedented period of turmoil.
Worldwide flight levels are up 1% on the same week in December 2002 with over 3000 additional flights added to the schedules. The Asia Pacific region - and China in particular - shows the strongest year-on-year growth, and the low cost sector continues its upward trend. The figures are part of the fifth OAG Quarterly Report on global airline schedules.*
Overall market and regional statistics
Worldwide, the number of scheduled flights is fairly stable, with a 1% growth recorded year on year.
The Asia Pacific region shows steady growth following the seismic effect of the SARS virus on airline traffic around the region. Flights to and from Asia Pacific are up 8% on December 2002 and traffic within Asia Pacific is up 6% or 5,344 flights.
The largest recorded growth is within China, up a very healthy 18% - almost 3000 flights ? on December 2002.
Flights to and from the UK have risen slightly on 2002 levels- up 3% on 2002 figures. However, UK domestic flights have seen a significant drop of ?5%, over 400 flights.
Flights to and from the US and Canada are down 1% year on year but the number of domestic flights are up by 1%.
Central & South America has seen the biggest drop, with -11% fewer flights.
Key routes
Flights between Western Europe and Asia Pacific are up 7% year on year and in general traffic on key routes to and from the Asia Pacific region are showing an increase on 2002 levels.
Transpacific traffic is performing less well with fewer flights on most routes, although flights between Vancouver and Asia Pacific are up 12%.
Transatlantic traffic remains down on 2002. Flights between the US & Canada and Western Europe are down ?3%. and also from London Heathrow to and from the US and Canada. London Gatwick has taken a heavy hit on transatlantic traffic- down ?12% on December 2002.
Hubs
Singapore Changi airport has still not fully recovered from the after-effects of SARS with a ?7% decline on 2002 flight levels. Tokyo Narita and Hong Kong airports? flight levels remain fairly stable.
With the exception of London Heathrow, key European hubs show decline in flight levels.
Flights to and from London Heathrow are up 1% on December 2002 but London Gatwick shows a decrease of -6% year on year. However, the figures reveal a 6% increase in number of seats available out of Gatwick, suggesting that airlines are flying fewer but larger planes.
Flight levels to most US hubs are up on December 2002 figures, with the biggest growth shown at Las Vegas McCarran. However, St Louis flight levels have dropped dramatically by over 2,500 flights (-36%).
Low-cost flights
The low cost sector continues to grow. Within Asia, there are over 400 more low flights than in December 2002, an increase of 58%. Within Pacific/Australasia the increase is 57%, more than 600 flights.
Low cost to and from the UK is up 23% (almost 1000 flights) year on year and within the UK flights are up 13%. This growth is all the more remarkable as it is occurring at a time when the UK domestic market as a whole is showing a decline of -5%.
Low cost flights within Europe show a healthy increase of 63% year on year (almost 5,000 flights). and low cost within Canada is up 37% on December 2002.
Fred Seow, vice president OAG Asia Pacific, commented:
?The OAG Quarterly Report shows that, after a long period of unpredictability in the airline industry things are beginning to stabilise. After such a difficult year it is good to see confidence returning and the growth in Asia is very encouraging. With the low-cost sector expanding, it will be interesting to see the impact of Tiger Airways and ValueAir when they launch their operations in this region next year.
?China, on the other hand, is continuously expanding in business travel and tourism, and this is reflected in the significant increase in domestic flights over the past 12 months.?
The figures below show international and domestic flights by region:
|
Year on year comparisons |
Worldwide |
+1% |
To/from Asia Pacific Within Asia Pacific |
+8% +6% |
To/from China Within China |
+4% +18% |
To/from UK UK Domestic |
+3% -5% |
To/from US/Canada US Domestics |
-1% +1% |
To/from Europe Within Europe |
+3% 0% |
To/From Middle East Within Middle East |
+6% +2% |
To/from Central & South America Within Central & South America |
+2% - 11% |
To/from Africa Within Africa |
+2% -1% |
The figures below show flights on a selection of the world's major routes:
|
Year on year comparisons 8-14 Dec 03 vs 9-15 Dec 02 Frequency Variance % |
Western Europe/Asia Pacific |
|
Western Europe to/from Asia Pacific |
+7% |
London (Heathrow & Gatwick) to/from Asia Pacific |
+6% |
Hong Kong to/from Western Europe |
+1% |
Singapore Changi to/from W.Europe |
+1% |
Transpacific |
|
USA/Canada to/from Asia Pacific |
-1% |
Hong Kong to/from USA & Canada |
-4% |
Vancouver to/from Asia Pacific |
+12% |
Transatlantic |
|
USA & Canada to/from W. Europe |
-3% |
Lon Heathrow to/from USA & Canada |
-3% |
Lon Gatwick to/from USA & Canada |
-12% |
New York JFK to/from W. Europe |
+7% |
Paris Charles de Gaulle to/from USA &Canada |
-2% |
The figures below show flights at a selection of the world's major airports:
|
Year on year comparisons 8-14 Dec 03 vs 9-15 Dec 02 Frequency Variance % |
To/from London Heathrow |
+1% |
To/from London Gatwick |
-6% |
To/from Paris Charles de Gaulle |
-1% |
To/from Frankfurt |
-2% |
To/from New York, JFK |
-5% |
To/from Pittsburg |
-6% |
To/from Hong Kong |
+1% |
To/from Singapore, Changi |
-7% |
To/from Tokyo Narita |
0% |
The figures below show low-cost flights by region:
|
Year on year comparisons 8-14 Dec 03 vs 9-15 Dec 02 Frequency Variance % |
Low cost within Asia |
+58% |
Low cost within Pacific & Australasia |
+57% |
Low cost to/from UK Low cost within UK |
+23% +13% |
Low cost within Europe |
+63% |
Low within US |
+6% |
Low cost within Canada |
+37% |
Low cost to/from US |
+137% |
Low cost within Latin America |
-13% |
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 Clair Waldron/Fiona Chow at Brown Lloyd James in the UK
T: +44 207 591 9610
E: clairw@blj.co.uk fionac@blj.co.uk
Notes to editors
*The OAG Quarterly Report on Global Airline Schedules
This is the fifth 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. You can obtain the full figures for the December 2003 report by clicking here or by contacting Christina Spykerman at OAG Singapore.