Average Available Seats per Flight Up 8% in Q2 2024

DALLAS — According to OAG data from Q2 2024, airline capacity worldwide will surpass the levels seen in the same period in 2019. However, scheduled flight numbers remain 5% behind the levels of Q2 2019. According to OAG, the average capacity per flight is increasing faster than ever.

The average capacity per scheduled flight is currently 160 seats. In Central America and Central Asia, the capacity per flight has increased by 25% since Q2 2019. Spain stands out as the country with the largest capacity per flight increase, with an 18% rise. United Airlines has added an additional 21 seats per flight since Q2 2019.

Several factors contribute to this significant change in capacity. These include aircraft availability, resource management, reductions in regional jet flying, the rise in low-cost airline market share, and ongoing issues with aircraft spare parts.

United Airlines Leading the Pack

Despite planning 12% fewer flights, United Airlines (UA) has added 21 seats per flight since Q2 2019, leading the way in capacity increase. Among the major European carriers, easyJet (U2) has added seven more seats to their average capacity per flight. On the other hand, Ryanair (FR), which already had a higher average capacity per flight, has seen only a minimal change.

The data tables provided by OAG show capacity changes at the regional, country, and airline levels. There are notable changes in average capacity per flight by region. In summary, capacity in North East Asia has increased by 9% compared to Q2 2019. North America has seen a 5.5% increase, while Western Europe has experienced a 1.9% rise. On the other hand, South East Asia has seen a decrease of 11.3% in capacity.

Looking at the top ten country markets, the United States has witnessed a 6.5% increase in average capacity per flight since Q2 2019. China has seen a significant growth of 18.7%, while India has experienced a 16.8% increase. Spain stands out with a capacity increase of 10.8%.

Among the top ten global airlines, UA has shown the highest average capacity per flight increase, with a growth of 18.8% since Q2 2019. Unsurprisingly, airlines such as American Airlines (AA) and Delta Air Lines (DL) have also seen notable increases in capacity.