Poles Apart! Eastern European Travel Demand Bolsters Airline Growth

¦ Airlines add 6,000 flights to Eastern Europe’s timetables
¦ Aviation industry takes off in Poland
¦ Pan-European intercontinental operations jump ten per cent
¦ Zero growth in global airline schedules

Burgeoning demand for travel to and from Eastern Europe in general, and Poland in particular, has sparked a big increase in airline activity in the region, according to figures released today from OAG.

The world’s airlines will this month operate 51,556 services into and out of Eastern Europe, 13 per cent, or nearly 6,000 flights, more than in April 2005. Some 2,500 of those additional flights are to and from Poland, where the April total of nearly 13,000 services represents a 24 per cent increase on last year.

The figures are revealed in OAG’s latest Quarterly Airline Traffic Statistics, a regular snapshot of airline activity around the world. OAG collates data from more than 1000 scheduled airlines, on a daily basis, to give an overview of anticipated travel demand.

Overall, the number of intercontinental flights to and from Europe this month is ten per cent higher than in April 2005. Within Europe, the number of flights on offer is the same as last year, although low-cost airline timetables are crammed with an extra 15,453 flights, up 24 per cent on the April 2005 total.

The pan-European total figures are bolstered by a seven per cent increase in flights to and from Spain, and a five per cent growth in operations into and out of the UK. Other major markets are showing more modest increases, with a three per cent increase in services to and from Italy, and two per cent growth for France, Germany and Scandinavia.

“This month’s ten per cent growth in intercontinental flights is an exceptional result for Europe’s air transport industry,” says Duncan Alexander, managing director of OAG Business Development. “We have witnessed April increases for four consecutive years now, with nearly 20,000 more flights available today than there were in April 2002.

“The zero growth in the intra-European number of flights is disappointing, but not unexpected after least year’s massive increase, when airlines laid on an extra 35,000 flights.”

Worldwide, nearly 266.3 million airline seats go on sale this month, two per cent more than in April last year, although the number of flights available has remained static at around 2.3 million.

Regional figures show that the Middle East’s aviation industry is outperforming the rest of the world by a significant margin. The number of flights to and from the region this month is 16 per cent higher than in April 2005, while the intra-regional figure is 13 per cent up. The number of Middle East low-cost flights has doubled since last year.

April 2006 sees a 13 per cent increase in flights to and from the Asia-Pacific region, while intercontinental services to and from Africa are up ten per cent. Central and South America is showing a five per cent increase in intercontinental flying, while the North American international total is three per cent higher.

The number of US domestic flights – which constitute by far the largest air transport market in the world – is six per cent lower than in April 2005.

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About OAG

OAG is an information management and distribution company specialising in travel and transportation.

OAG’s expertise is in managing large amounts of data and building applications and products to get that information into the hands of people who need it.

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