North Atlantic aviation: renewed strength is welcome; low cost airlines rebuild
According to IATA, Europe to North America became the first international route region globally to recover RPKs back above 2019 levels when it crossed this threshold in Jan-2023. It has remained above it throughout 2023 (as of Aug-2023, the most recent month) - the only traffic region to do so.
There is a lag in reporting traffic data, but weekly capacity data from CAPA - Centre for Aviation and OAG confirm that the recovery in the North Atlantic aviation market has continued into Oct-2023. It is the only major long haul region to/from Europe with capacity above 2019 levels.
The North Atlantic is dominated by immunised JVs, with their seat share up from 73.7% in 2019 to 78.6% in 2023. However, LCCs have taken some share away from them in 2023, compared with 2022.
North American airlines occupy four of the top five places in the capacity ranking on the North Atlantic, but European airlines have a bigger overall seat share.
The North Atlantic recovery is welcome to the latter, as it is their most important long haul region.
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