Global airline capacity this week is up by nearly 16 per cent,
or about 5.7 million seats, compared with last week, with capacity up across
all major regional markets except Southeast Asia and Lower South America,
according to OAG.
About 60 airlines are resuming service this week, including
Turkish Airlines and Transavia, and total global capacity this week stands at
36.7 million, about a third of the level of what it was this time last year,
OAG reported. In addition, "there are indications of some growth in search
and booking activity in both the Chinese domestic market and indeed Europe, and
particularly Italy", according to OAG analyst John Grant.
Capacity in Northeast Asia is up 8.1 per cent, and domestic
capacity in the region has reached 80 per cent of its pre-Covid-19 levels,
though international capacity in the region is still only 13 per cent of what
it was before the pandemic. Capacity in Central America and the Middle East,
thanks in part to the reopening of Saudi Arabia, this week more than doubled
week over week, OAG indicated.
Grant said that, despite the growth this week, cancellations
and capacity adjustments will remain the norm.
"With uncertainty remaining and traveller confidence
yet to be restored, there are a lot of factors outside the airlines’ control
that will continue to affect demand and ultimately capacity," he said.
"In the United Kingdom some 7.8 million seats have been removed by
airlines in the last two weeks through to the end of July. As each week passes,
we expect to see further adjustments in all markets."