Highest ever number of flights recorded in 2006
The world’s scheduled airlines – including low cost carriers – offered a record 3.3 billion seats on 28.2 million flights during 2006.
That represents an average daily offering of more than nine million seats on 77,371 individual daily flights, according to global travel and transport information company OAG.
The total number of seats available was up by 3.4% on 2005. Scheduled flights increased 1.8% with 2,856 new direct or re-instated services being introduced during the year.
The total low cost carrier seat offering year-on-year was up nearly 16% globally from the 474,080,924 seats offered in 2005 on 3,384,166 flights. Scheduled low cost flights increased 13% from 2005 to 2006.
Budget airlines offered a total of 549,078,161 seats in 2006 on 3,815,204 flights, representing 17% of the total number of scheduled seats on offer worldwide. Within the US, the capacity share of low cost carriers was 27%, slightly more than Europe where the offer was 24%, according to OAG.
OAG managing director Duncan Alexander said: “At a very conservative estimate of a 70% load factor that means over 2.3 billion passengers will have flown during 2006. That is more than 6.3 million people flying every day of the year on either business or leisure.
“Given the schedules already in the OAG system for the first quarter of 2007, the trend of more seats and flights being offered by the world’s scheduled airlines, and more people flying on both long and short haul, looks to continue. “
The longest scheduled route flown in 2006 was by Singapore Airlines between Newark and Singapore with a time of 18 hours and 40 minutes. The shortest route flown was between Papa Westray and Westray in Scotland at just two minutes. The flight is operated by Loganair using a Britten-Norman Islander to cover just nine miles.
Report by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
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