Air trends: Number of flights to grow this month

(AFP PHOTO / ED JONES)

Air passengers will see more seats available in the United States this month and into 2011, global aviation analyst OAG has said.

In the company's monthly trends forecast released last week, OAG's Peter von Moltke said that the "upward trend in the available seat capacity growth...is positive for travellers."

The number of seats available for air travel in the US rose three percent year-on-year in November, after a year that saw considerable declines in the wake of the economic crisis.

The report also shows that the cancellation of Mexicana's flights is continuing to have a significant impact in Central America, where the number of flights is down 20 percent, although von Moltke predicted that the number of international flights could be back to early 2010 levels by March/April next year.

Globally, there are four percent more aircraft taking to the skies this month than there were a year ago, a total of 2.4 million flights.

The Middle East showed the greatest surge in numbers, with 16 percent (7,173) more flights than in November 2009, continuing a seemingly unstoppable upward trend.

Flights to Africa were also up 16 percent and those to Asia Pacific rose by 13 percent, to some 59,641 aircraft movements to and from the region.

An additional 10,868 flights are expected to and from Europe this month, a rise of 12 percent, and frequency to and from North America was also up, by one percent.

The World's Largest Airports - November

1. Atlanta Hartsfield (ATL)
2. Beijing (PEK)
3. London Heathrow (LHR)
4. Tokyo Haneda (HND)
5. Chicago O Hare (ORD)
6. Frankfurt (FRA)
7. Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG)
8. Los Angeles (LAX)
9. Dallas Fort Worth (DFW)
10. Hong Kong (HKG)

Data from OAG Aviation - http://www.oagaviation.com/