Total global air capacity changed little this week compared
with last week, as reductions in Asia offset capacity added back to the Western
European and North American markets, according to OAG.
Airlines around the world have 39.91 million seats scheduled
this week, down 0.1 per cent from the 39.96 million seats last week. In Western
Europe, airlines added more than 700,000 seats, up 18.2 per cent week over
week, and North American airlines added about 600,000 seats, up 7.5 per cent
week over week. US capacity is up 7 per cent week over week, and domestic US
travel "has been growing strongly" in recent weeks, according to OAG.
In Northeast Asia, however, carriers cut about a million
seats, down 6.3 per cent week over week. About half of that came from capacity
cuts in Beijing amid a reported spike of Covid-19 cases in the Chinese capital,
according to OAG.
Capacity also was down in India and Indonesia, an indication
that "pent-up demand for travel during lockdowns has now settled, and the
airlines have accordingly been adjusting capacity to meet those new demand
levels," according to OAG analyst John Grant.