Aircraft fleets: Western v Eastern/Central Europe. Airbus leads orders

A decade ago, Western Europe's commercial aircraft fleet was more than three times the size of Eastern/Central Europe's. However, robust growth in Eastern/Central Europe (E/C Europe), and near stagnation in Western Europe (W Europe), has reduced this size difference to below 90% today.

Western Europe is still home to the majority of the continent's largest airline groups by fleet size (only two groups from Eastern/Central Europe rank in Europe's overall top 10). In particular, the west has a huge advantage in widebodies. Although it is larger, Western Europe's airline sector is more concentrated, and the fragmentation in Eastern/Central Europe points to considerable scope for consolidation.

Western Europe may be larger by aircraft in service, but Eastern/Central Europe is home to the airline with Europe's highest number of outstanding aircraft orders (Wizz Air). Moreover, orders in the smaller region make up a higher percentage of aircraft in service than in the west, signalling its growth intent.

This analysis of data from the CAPA Fleet Database compares the fleets of Western Europe and Eastern/Central Europe by size, aircraft type, orders, growth rates and leading airline groups.