Worldwide airline capacity cuts begin to ease

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Seat capacity on airlines around the world has declined for June, but at a lower rate than in recent months, according to the most recent OAG figures.

Scheduled flights were cut for the 11th consecutive month, with seat capacity down by two per cent.

Year-on-year capacity reductions had remained at three per cent for every month since November of 2008, by comparison, with the exception of the particularly sharp drop of seven per cent seen in February of this year.

For June, the total number of flights scheduled world-wide dropped by four per cent, to 2.43 million, with 297.5 million seats available to air travellers.

OAG does not believe that this is necessarily a sign of recovery in the industry.

David Beckerman, the vice-president for OAG marketing intelligence, said: “As the Northern Hemisphere begins its summer holiday season, the airline community is curbing its capacity cuts in anticipation of a welcome boost in air travel.”

He added: “However, we shouldn’t assume that this is the start of recovery and growth; the outlook remains uncertain and figures are still down year-on-year, but it does indicate a glimmer of economic confidence.”

Thanks to www.travelmole.com for the above quotes, for more information on this article please visit their website.

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