Global air capacity this week is up slightly to 37.2 million
seats, an increase of about 500,000 compared with last week, according to OAG.
Among global regions, Western Europe has the highest growth
rate this week, up 19.4 per cent, with airlines such as Lufthansa, Wizz Air and
Turkish Airlines adding capacity back into their networks. In North America,
carriers have added 850,000 seats this week, about 500,000 of which were with
Southwest Airlines.
"With more than 30,000 seats added back in Denver,
Chicago Midway and Washington Baltimore, Southwest [is] clearly seeing
sufficient signs of recovery to continue adding back capacity at their
hubs," according to OAG analyst John Grant.
Grant also noted that booking searches are up this week, and
US Transportation Security Administration checkpoint traffic is up 10 per cent
week over week, though still only 13 per cent of what it was this time last
year. Overall global capacity, meanwhile, remains about 78 million seats below
last year's levels.
"Climbing back is a lot harder for every airline than
falling off a cliff," according to Grant. "Until demand recovers,
traveller confidence is restored and, importantly, bookings are made not just
for the next few weeks but further out into September and October, capacity
growth is likely to remain patchy and spasmodic in nature."