OAG has published some interesting figures which puts into perspective the worldwide growth of the airline industry. In 2005, using information gleaned from its massive data bank, there was a 3% and 5% increase in frequency and capacity for the world”s airlines. This represents an additional 920,000+ flights and just under 146m respectively. Leading the way in the volume of additional flights in 2005 was Continental Airlines with a growth of just over 63,000. SAS (primarily due to the acquisition of Braathens), along with Hainan Airlines, TAM Brazilian Airlines and Southwest Airlines, were the carriers that planned the highest number of additional services in 2005 after Continental. Four of the top ten airlines with the highest number of additional seats in 2005 were budget carriers. In addition to Ryanair, Southwest and easyJet, Jetstar Airways also joined this elite group. Inevitably there were some notable losses in the industry. United Airlines is the largest North American carrier with the highest reduction in the number of planned additional seats for 2006.
http://www.oag.com