U.S. flight capacity is roaring back – so much so that the U.S. reclaimed the title as the largest aviation market in the world. While pent-up demand, growing desire for non-stop flights, underused aircraft capacity, and airline’s “dash for cash” are all contributing to air travel’s rebirth, is this growth part of a short-term airline experiment, or something more sustainable?
OAG, the world’s collector of travel data, answers this and more with their latest insights:
- The U.S. takes the top spot as the largest aviation market with an additional 900,000 domestic seats.
– 9% of U.S. capacity remains linked to international services to points in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Mexico. - With 67.9 million seats newly added, this week marked the busiest for scheduling since the week of March 30th, 2020.
- May capacity closed at 279.9 million, nearly double May 2020’s seat capacity.
- With new seasonal services to destinations in Europe, American Airlines continues to reign as the largest airline, now almost 23% larger than its closest rival, Delta Air.
- Over 1,150 new airport pairs have been added since last July; a 33% jump that’s creating more traveler choices –and likely more competitive fares.
This rebuild in recovery is also benefitting U.S. airports, according to OAG’s latest look at the World’s Busiest Airports:
- Busiest Airports – Atlanta holds strong: ATL pulled ahead of Guangzhou (CAN) this month, while Dallas (DFW) and Denver (DEN) eek their way into the top 10.
- Busiest Airports-Internationally: Despite the Middle East still being closed off to international travelers, Dubai takes the top spot, while Miami and JFK rank at 8 and 9.
With the U.S. bouncing back it’s only a matter of time until restriction-free international travel opens up and spurs recovery throughout the international market.
