During the summer season that started this month and lasts till the end of October, the member airlines of the Association of European Airlines will offer 5.5 million additional seats on intra-European flight s and an extra 4.5 million seats on their intercontinental services. Based on AEA research, the largest expansion areas are Eastern Europe and Central / South America.
In their summer timetable 2014, the 30 AEA member airlines have scheduled 2,2 million flights. This is an increase of +1.4 % compared to the previous summer season. In total 10 million additional seats are available for sale. “The Summer 2014 developments are indicative of a further recovery of the industry “, says AEA’s Research Manager Sue Lockey. “Many airlines have done their homework and are, after several seasons of consolidation and rationalisation of networks, once again adding capacity.
Intra-Europe
On their intra-European network, AEA members plan to operate 1, 9 million flights. The number of flights within European borders will increase by 14.500, compared to the summer season 2013. Geographically, the largest expansion will be recorded in Eastern Europe (+7% more flights), Turkey (+ 3.8 %) followed by Scandinavia (+ 3,3 %). Several airlines are operating larger aircraft compared to last year.
Beyond Europe
AEA member airlines have 330.000 intercontinental flights in their summer 2014 offer. This is an increase of 15,500 compared to last year. The strongest growth is planned for Central & Southern America , in part boosted by the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Brazil. In total, AEA member airlines are planning to operate an additional 655 flights. Apart from these extra scheduled services, several AEA members also plan ad-hoc flights to Brazil. The transatlantic flight activity of the European carriers increases by 6 %. The growth in offer to Asia, Australasia and Africa amounts to 2 %.
Burdens
“Europe’s connectivity is further improving thanks to the efforts of our airlines”, says AEA CEO Athar Husain Khan. “Market conditions remain however challenging. AEA airlines are still confronted with unnecessary regulatory burdens or infrastructure issues that weaken their international competiveness. With the EU elections around the corner we will now soon reach a momentum to create a European aviation policy that secures a sustainable aviation industry.”
