US air travel slower to recover than Asia
The air travel industry is showing signs of recovery – but with the exception of the no-frills sector, flights are still below pre-September 11 levels.
According to OAG, which monitors global flight schedules, the number of schedule flights operating globally is at the same level as last year, but still down 5% from 2001.
The worst affected market has been the US, which has recovered sluggishly compared the Asia. In the US domestic flights are down 12% on pre-September 11 levels. In contrast, Asia’s internal flights are up 6% from September 2001, recovering from a 45% drop in traffic year-on-year during the Sars crisis.
Transatlantic routes are down 12% from pre-September 11 levels, although OAG says transpacific routes are still experiencing record losses in schedules due to the impact of Sars. Flights between Hong Kong and the US and Canada are down 19% from last year.
It is not a surprise to see that the no-frills sector has bucked the global trend and is a staggering 176% up on pre-September 11 levels in Europe. In Canada, no-frills are up 123% on pre-September 11 figures, in Asia Pacific this figure is 272% and in Latin America, 450%.
OAG says the no-frills sector should be, “credited with buoying up the industry in the last two years.”
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