OAG Travel News

In North America, September ushers in a time of reduced travel.  The summer is over – children are back in school and vacations from work slow considerably.  As a result, airlines reduce their schedules to account for this decline in travel.

This week I will take a macro look at the change in both flights and capacity (as measured by seat departures) in the USA and Canada; I will also look at some of the declines for selected airports on a more micro level.  The comparisons will be for September 2009 as compared to July 2009 – July is the height of the summer travel season and typically the busiest month of the year for many airports.

USA
Flights from the USA will decline by 11 percent, and capacity will decline by 12 percent over this two-month period.  Of the 674 commercial service airports in the USA, only 87 – nine percent – will record an increase in flight capacity in September.  The busiest airport to record an increase is Florida’s Tallahassee Regional Airport (TLH).  The 35 daily flight departures in September are four percent higher than in July.  Meanwhile, Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International (ATL) – the world’s busiest airport – will experience a decline of 12 percent in flights, and 10 percent in capacity.

Numerous small airports will record double-digit increases in both flight and seat departures, including Bellingham International Airport (BLI), Yuma International Airport (YUM), and Palm Springs International Airport (PSP).  However, many more airports – both large and small – will record double-digit declines, including Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) and Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC).

Canada
Canada fares slightly better than the USA in terms of September declines – flights are down by eight percent, while seat capacity is down by 10 percent.  Of Canada’s 232 commercial service airports, only nine percent – the same percentage as in the USA – will record an increase in flight capacity.

Toronto – Canada’s largest city – is a tale of two airports.  Flights at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport (YYZ) will decline by nine percent, and capacity by over 10 percent.  Meanwhile, both flights and capacity will increase by nearly seven percent at Toronto’s City Centre Airport (YTZ).  In fact, Toronto’s City Centre Airport is the busiest Canadian airport to record an increase in service over the period measured. 

The top Canadian airports to record increases are Kenora Airport (YQK) – a 33-percent increase in flight departures – and Kugluktuk Airport (YCO) – a 40-percent increase in capacity.  At the other end of the list, the Canadian airports to record the steepest declines are Lynn Lake Airport (YYL) – an 87-percent decrease in both flights and capacity – and Campbell River Airport (YBL) – a 77-percent decrease in both flights and capacity.

Final Thought
Thankfully, what goes down will – in most cases – go back up!  Air travel is seasonal, and increases will replace decreases as the seasons change.

Source: Official Airline Guide (OAG) Schedule Tapes; data compares flight departures for July 2009 and September 2009 only, unless otherwise noted; busy airports defined by number of flight departures.