Flights on transatlantic routes are set to exceed pre-pandemic levels this summer, according to the latest data from aviation specialist OAG.
All but two of the top ten long-haul routes will operate an increased number of flights during summer 2023 compared to the same period in 2019 – and 60 per cent of these are transatlantic routes.
London Heathrow to New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport is expected to be the busiest route, with 9,392 flights in operation throughout the season, a 13.6 per cent increase on 2019 levels. The route between London Heathrow and Los Angeles International Airport will be the second most active, with 5,109 flights, a 37 per cent increase compared to summer 2019.
The route between Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport and New York JFK, meanwhile, will see the biggest increase in flight frequency, with 45.2 per cent more flights (4,686) than in 2019.
Additional flight frequencies will be seen on routes from Heathrow to Newark Liberty Airport (with 4,000 flights representing an increase of 20.3 per cent), from Heathrow to Dubai Airport (with 3,936 flights representing an increase of 15.2 per cent) and from Boston Logan Airport to Heathrow (with 3,436 flights representing an increase of 18.6 per cent).
Long-haul connections between Singapore and Sydney will also increase by 8.3 per cent to 3,657 flights, while routes between Singapore and Melbourne and between Heathrow and Chicago O'Hare International Airport will see flight numbers fall just below 2019 levels, with a decline of 1.3 per cent and 2.2 per cent, respectively.
OAG also flagged India as a “hotspot” of long-haul development following the recent expansion of Air India’s UK operations as well as plans to “dramatically” expand its network.
In China, long-haul connectivity remains “a real issue”, according to OAG, as the country’s delayed removal of travel restrictions prevented airlines from planning services. The closure of Russian airspace has also compounded the issue for European carriers, according to the company, as 21 airlines that operated long-haul services to and from China have yet to return to the market.