Global Flight Levels Stabilise say OAG (UK media)

Figures published today (11 December 2003) by OAG, the world?s leading source of independent flight schedule information, indicate that the airline industry is beginning to stabilise following an unprecedented period of turmoil.

Overall market and regional statistics
Worldwide, the number of scheduled flights is fairly stable, with a 1% growth recorded year on year.

Flights to and from the UK have risen slightly on 2002 levels- up 3% on 2002 figures. However, UK domestic flights have seen a significant drop of ?5%, over 400 flights.

The Asia Pacific region also shows steady growth following the seismic effect of the SARS virus on airline traffic around the region. Flights to and from Asia Pacific are up 8% on December 2002 and traffic within Asia Pacific is up 6% or 5,344 flights.

The largest recorded growth is within China- up a very healthy 18%- almost 3000 flights on December 2002.

Flights to and from the US and Canada are down 1% year on year but the number of domestic flights are up by 1%

Central & South America has seen the biggest drop, with -11% fewer flights.

Key routes
Transatlantic traffic remains down on 2002. Flights between the US & Canada and Western Europe are down ?3% and also from London Heathrow to and from the US and Canada. London Gatwick has taken a heavy hit on transatlantic traffic- down ?12% on December 2002.

Flights between Western Europe and Asia Pacific are up 7% year on year and in general traffic on key routes to and from the Asia Pacific region are showing an increase on 2002 levels.

Transpacific traffic is performing less well with fewer flights on most routes, although flights between Vancouver and Asia Pacific are up 12%.

Hubs
With the exception of London Heathrow, key European hubs show decline in flight levels.

Flights to and from London Heathrow are up 1% on December 2002 but London Gatwick shows a decrease of -6% year on year. However, the figures reveal a 6% increase in number of seats available out of Gatwick, suggesting that airlines are flying fewer but larger planes.

Singapore Changi airport has still not fully recovered from the after-effects of SARS with a ?7% decline on 2002 flight levels. Tokyo Narita and Hong Kong airports? flight levels remain fairly stable.

Flight levels to most US hubs are up on December 2002 figures, with the biggest growth shown at Las Vegas McCarran. However, St Louis flight levels have dropped dramatically by over 2,500 flights (-36%).

Low-cost flights
The low cost sector continues to grow. Low cost to and from the UK is up 23% (almost 1000 flights) year on year and within the UK flights are up 13%. This growth is all the more remarkable as it is occurring at a time when the UK domestic market as a whole is showing a decline of -5%.

Low cost flights within Europe show a healthy increase of 63% year on year (almost 5,000 flights) and low cost within Asia is up 58% on December 2002.

Lynne Fraser, marketing director of OAG data, commented:

The OAG Quarterly Report shows that, after a long period of unpredictability in the airline industry things are beginning to stabilise. Low cost is still outperforming the rest of the market. After such a bad year it is good to see confidence returning and the growth in Asia is very encouraging.?

OAG collects the schedules of more than 930 airlines in a variety of formats, and verifies, quality checks and processes them into a consistent format for distribution throughout the airline and travel industries. Its database also includes cargo information.

The figures below show international and domestic flights by region:

The figures below show flights on a selection of the world's major routes:

The figures below show flights at a selection of the world's major airports:

The figures below show low-cost flights by region:

For further information or requests for interviews, please contact:
Clair Waldron/Fiona Chow at Brown Lloyd James
T:020 7591 9610 M: 07866 447732 or M: 07973 753 583
E: clairw@blj.co.uk fionac@blj.co.uk

Notes to editors

*The OAG Quarterly Report on Global Airline Schedules
This is the fifth OAG quarterly report on global airline schedules, developed to provide a comprehensive snapshot of the current state of the air travel industry. The data used in the report is taken from the OAG schedules database, the scale and quality of which is unmatched. Recognised for its accuracy, the OAG database is constantly updated and holds data on more than 930 airlines and over 1.5 million flight sectors.

The report identifies and compares the number of scheduled flights by region, on key routes and to and from major airports, for a particular week from year to year. The reports are published in March, June, September and December.