Nearly Three Quarters of U.S. Travellers Support the Introduction of International Vaccine Passports, According to OAG Research

Travellers are taking to the skies again, but the immediate future of air travel remains highly turbulent, according to OAG’s survey of 1,800-plus U.S. travellers in July and August. Domestic capacity in the U.S. is up 81% from June – August 2021, compared to the same period last year. The increase is being fuelled by strong consumer demand; 70% of consumers surveyed by OAG have booked flights for the future.

While travellers’ willingness to fly is increasing, the Delta variant, increased COVID transmission rates and vaccination preferences weigh heavily on the near and mid-term outlook. The large majority of consumers surveyed by OAG report being fully vaccinated. However, OAG found that only 15% of non-vaccinated individuals plan to get vaccinated before their next trip.

Many airlines and destinations are considering vaccine mandates to strengthen confidence and fight transmission. Sixty-eight percent of all survey respondents said they are interested in or want domestic vaccine passports, and 70% believe vaccine passports should be required for international travel. Alarmingly, of those that said they were not yet vaccinated, 56% said they still wouldn’t get vaccinated even if the airline, airport, or destination required it to travel.

“Vaccine mandates are a polarizing issue. Many airlines, governments and destinations are actively considering mandating vaccines to fly or enter, and the majority of travellers support the use of vaccine passports,” said Mayur Patel, Head of APAC, OAG. “While this may add fuel to hot fire, the ongoing strength and resilience of the entire travel market is directly linked to higher vaccination levels and lower transmission rates.”

Other takeaways from OAG’s research include:

Continued COVID-19 concerns keep some travellers grounded. Of the 30% of respondents who haven’t booked flights yet, 40% are waiting for vaccination rates and regulations to improve and 30% are waiting for vaccine passports to be required.

The business travel outlook remains cloudy. Only 62% of business travellers said their company is planning air travel in the next 12 months, while 38% said their company either has no plans (20%) or has not specified plans (18%).

Holiday travel expected to bounce back. The 2021 holiday travel season projects to be a lot stronger than 2020. Of the 38% of travellers surveyed by OAG that said they typically fly for the holidays, only 40% of this group did so in 2020. This year, the percentage of that group who do intend to fly more than doubled (85%). Planned capacity for Thanksgiving week tells a similar story, currently with 47% more domestic seats booked than last year.

Booking behaviour remains erratic. Nearly half of travellers surveyed are still booking on short notice (between two weeks to a month in advance), and half are booking between two-six-plus months out. Eighty-eight percent expect ticket prices to rise in the next 12 months.

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OAG and IATA linking up to strengthen data partnership

Comprehensive data supplied by OAG’s new cloud platform will help power IATA’s Airport IS market intelligence tool.

OAG, the world’s leading provider of travel data and insight has agreed a partnership with the International Air Transport Association (IATA), to provide schedule and reference data via its new cloud platform. As part of the strengthened partnership between the two aviation leaders, OAG will also provide IATA with a customized version of its market-leading Analyzer tool which will be offered as part of a bundle alongside Airport IS and other existing tools in the future.

Built on the Snowflake cloud platform, the supply of reference and schedules data provides customers with the richest and freshest version of schedules data available in the market.

“COVID-19’s ongoing impact on traffic volatility has made it critical to power our products with the most up-to-date data available,” said Charles de Gheldere, Director Aviation Data at IATA. “Our strengthened partnership with OAG supplies our airport customers with fresh and accurate data and a highly-innovative, modern and flexible cloud-based platform. The combined IATA and OAG offerings enable airports to operate more intelligently and efficiently while navigating one of the most unpredictable periods in our industry’s lifetime.”

Phil Callow, CEO, OAG added, “Our high-quality, flexible and creative technology enables us to adapt to ongoing market volatility by delivering the optimal version of our data directly in the hands of our customers. Our deeper partnership with IATA and investment in our new cloud platform are the latest steps in our ongoing journey to empower the industry with best-in-class data and tech.”

The multi-year partnership officially went into effect on Jan. 1st, 2021 and marks the start of a developing relationship with the two organizations. 

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OAG's monthly frequency and capacity stats are out now

The Frequency and Capacity Statistics Report for February 2021 is now available with commentary from OAG's expert Analysts and additional information regarding the impact of Covid-19. 

With data sourced via Schedules Analyzer, the report contains facts and figures for the following categories, including a year on year comparison:

      •  Seats by Region

      •  Top 20 Country Pairs

      •  Top 20 Airlines

      •  Top 20 Airports

Capacity for the month of February is currently 47.4% below February 2020, and 14.3% (35 m seats) lower than last month. Each major region has seen capacity fall vs January 2021. In comparison to February 2020, only North East Asia saw an increase, due to the timing of when capacity began to fall in 2020 in China.

The greatest decrease in the last month has been seen in Asia Pacific where carriers have taken 17.3m seats out of the schedule. Much of this is in North East Asia, where an 18% reduction month-on-month equates to 14.2m fewer seats this month. Reductions in China (-11.9m) and Japan (-1.5m) account for most of this lost capacity. 

Download a copy of the report here. 


Flight Database & Statistics | Aviation Analytics | OAG

early 70% of travellers plan to fly internationally within the next six months, according to OAG Study

OAG, the world’s leading provider of travel data and insight, today released The COVID-19 Recovery: Getting Passengers Back on Board, a new report on traveler confidence based on a global survey of over 4,000 users of its flightview travel app.

Overall, fear levels over catching COVID-19 while flying are tepid, and most consumers are open to air travel. Key findings include:

• Sixty-nine percent intend to fly internationally within the next six months, while 79% have plans for domestic air travel.
• The eagerness to travel is more apparent among millennials and Gen-Z. Both generations are less apt to make travel adjustments and more eager to travel domestically compared to their worldwide counterparts.
• Nearly one-third have not and do not intend to change their travel habits.
• Seventy-six percent of travelers agreed mask mandates are the most effective safety measure airlines and airports can implement, followed by improved cleaning procedures

The latest stats from OAG

The OAG has released its latest stats regarding airline frequency and capacity statistics showing that global capacity in September is expected to be -49% lower than it was in the same month last year.  OAG says global capacity has stalled at this level, and given the ongoing reductions in capacity week on week, the total picture for September is likely to be lower still by the end of the month.

Carriers globally have reduced capacity by 11% on last month. There are pockets of growth versus last month in Africa, Central Asia and Latin America, but this growth is from a very low basis as some of these markets have been slowest to kick start recovery from very low levels. South Africa for example will see 8% more seats this month than last, but remains 80% below last year.

Several parts of Asia are seeing capacity pullback this month compared to last month with 11.3m fewer seats in September than August. North-East Asia is boosted by the recovery of China’s domestic market – at least in terms of capacity - in September where there are expected to be 8% more seats than September 2019. Only China and the Russian Federation have capacity above last year’s levels.

In Europe, carriers are cutting capacity back on last month, as ongoing restrictions and quarantines occur across the region. Western Europe is now back to nearly 60% below last September, with 16% reduction on last month. The Caribbean has also seen capacity-cut back this month with carriers reducing seats by 29% on last month, as demand is impacted by ongoing restrictions on international travel. 

This month sees the US carriers pulling back on flights – Southwest – who were closest to last year’s level last month, have withdrawn 25% of the seats scheduled in August. JetBlue have also pared back flights with 20% fewer this month than last month. Of the US carriers in the Top 20, they remain furthest behind their 2019 position with 71% less flights.

The LATAM group are adding back flights, as seen in the regional chart with 40% more seats than last month. In absolute terms, the LATAM increase equates to just over 3,000 flights and they remain 74% down on September 2019.

Two of Europe’s biggest network carriers, Air France and SAS are both anticipating an increase in flights this month, with an increase of 15% and 22% respectively on last month. Much of the Air France increase is on domestic routes, although there is some additional frequency to Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland. For SAS there are increases in frequency within Norway and Sweden, with some additional increases between the Scandinavian countries.

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The Empty Middle Seat: The Stuff of Dreams

Photo OAG

There have been few pleasurable moments around a low-cost airline experience, but the vacant middle seat was one, writes OAG's John Grant.   The almost smug acknowledgement to the other person across that huge seventeen-inch gap; the placing of some papers on the spare seat or even for me the stretch across into ‘neutral’ territory were small victories. We have all admired, sometimes reluctantly the success of the low-cost airline model and especially their ability to create demand even on the dreariest of days; Ryanair’s average load factor is 98% (apparently) easyJet’s 91% and Southwest 84%. These airlines certainly knew how to cram us in, but what of the future?

The Middle Seat Dilemma – never the most popular seat, passengers with a “B” or an “E” were branded from the first “excuse me” through to the “would you mind” as they escaped to the toilet. Whoever selected the middle seat through choice?

In the last few months we have been both exposed to a once in a century pandemic, made “unprecedented” fashionable and added social distancing to our behaviour; an emoji will undoubtedly follow for regular use in the next release. And we may at least for some time mentally have removed the middle seat from most commercial aircraft for at least the next few months.

As we’ve been locked down airlines have been looking at how they can entice us back to travel, how can they build our confidence and reassure us that the risk of exposure to COVID-19 is minimised. One answer is to leave the middle seat empty in our new normal world. Or is it an answer…

Do We Even Need A Middle Seat? – at OAG we’ve tracked the reductions in global capacity on a weekly basis, you may have seen some of our blogs; the numbers and pace of change are astonishing, bare credible but very real. Those numbers only tell half the story, demand not only fell off a cliff it dived to the bottom of the sea. We have all seen images of the one commercial passenger on a flight, daily load factors of less than 15% compared to over 85% this time last year, the TSA data on daily passengers processed. There has been no demand to speak of and the initial offers of ‘cabbage fares’ in China and more recently ‘vegetable fares’ say everything about where demand is today.

OAG names Garuda Indonesia as the most punctual airline in the world.......

A queen of the skies before its retirement 

Today OAG publishes its Punctuality League 2020, a comprehensive ranking of the world’s largest airlines and airports for on-time performance (OTP).

Garuda Indonesia takes the top spot globally and regionally with an impressive OTP of 95.01%.

Aeroflot finished as the most punctual Mega Airline in Europe and second-most punctual mega in the world (OTP 86.30%).

Six U.S. carriers ranked among the most punctual Mega Airlines in the world, including Delta Air Lines (4), Alaska Airlines (6), Southwest Airlines (8), American Airlines (9), United Airlines (13) and JetBlue (16).

San Diego International Is the Most Connected Low-Cost Megahub Outside of Asia

14 North American Airports land in OAG’s Global Megahubs Index, including Chicago O’Hare (ORD), Toronto Pearson (YYZ), Atlanta (ATL) and Los Angeles (LAX)

Key Findings:

Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) is the most connected airport in the U.S. and third in the world. This is the fourth consecutive year ORD is the most connected Megahub in North America.
Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) ranks second in the U.S. and eighth globally for its connectivity.
Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport (DFW) is now third in the U.S. for domestic connectivity, swapping places with Charlotte Douglas (CLT), which finished fourth.
Three Canadian airports are among the Top 50 Global Megahubs, including Toronto Pearson (YYZ), Vancouver International (YVR) and Montréal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau (YUL).
London Heathrow (LHR) remains the most internationally connected airport in the world.

OAG, the world’s leading provider of travel data and insight, released its Megahubs Index 2019. The analysis reveals the Top 50 most internationally connected airports in the world and the Top 25 most domestically connected airports in the U.S.

Chicago O’Hare (ORD; Domestic Connectivity Index: 459) leads North America in connectivity for the fourth consecutive year and is the third most internationally connected airport in the world. On the busiest day in aviation this year, 83,580 domestic connections were possible within a three-hour window at ORD – 2% more than last year. United Airlines operates the majority of flights at O’Hare at 48%, down 2% from 2018.

London Heathrow Remains No. 1 in Airport Connectivity for Third Straight Year

Munich (MUC)landed among the Top 5 Global Megahubs.
Ranked second, Frankfurt International Airport (FRA), closely followed reigning Megahub London Heathrow (LHR).
Singapore (SIN) remained the most connected airport in the Asia Pacific region.
14 North American airports made the Top 50, led by Chicago O’Hare (ORD).

This week, OAG, the world’s leading provider of travel data and insight, released its Megahubs Index 2019. The analysis reveals the Top 50 most internationally connected airports in the world and the Top 25 most domestically connected airports in the U.S.

London Heathrow (LHR; International Connectivity Index: 317) is the world’s most internationally connected airport for the third straight year. On the busiest day in aviation this year, over 65,000 international connections were possible within a six-hour window. Frankfurt International Airport (FRA; ICI:309) moved up one spot in this year’s global rankings, giving Europe the top-two spots in the world. Chicago O’Hare (ORD; ICI:290), Amsterdam (AMS; ICI:279), and Munich (MUC; ICI:259) followed closely behind.

Asia has the busiest air routes in the world

OAG have once again crunched the numbers, calculated the facts to show the busiest air routes in the world. 

The busiest routes in the world can be found in the Asia-Pacific region, which is home to 15 of the top 20 international, and 13 of the top 20 domestic routes globally. The busiest route on the planet is South Korea Jeju (CJU) to Seoul (GMP), with 79,460 annual operating flights. For a second straight year, Kuala Lumpur (KUL) to Singapore (SIN) is the world’s busiest international route (30,187 flights annually), followed by Hong Kong (HKG) to Taipei (TPE), with 28,447 flights.

The busiest international routes outside of Asia are from New York (LGA) to Toronto (YYZ) and Chicago O’Hare (ORD) to Toronto Pearson (YYZ). In North America, Toronto (YYZ) is featured in five of the top 10 international markets. Los Angeles (LAX) to San Francisco (SFO) is the busiest route in North America and ninth busiest in the world.

OAG’s analysis, which is based on operating flight volume, includes insight into on-time performance (OTP) and carrier frequency at the route level, both domestically and internationally. 

Great results for British Airways and Air Baltic in the OAG's Punctuality League

There are mixed results for some of the globes leading airlines in the latest edition of the OAG Punctuality League, published this week.

OAG is perhaps the world’s leading provider of travel data and insight and its latest report provides a comprehensive ranking of the world’s largest and leading airlines and airports in terms of on-time performance (OTP).

There were some surprises in this year's complete rankings at a time when many European airlines faced some tough conditions following air traffic control strikes as well as industrial action at airports. Such strike actions negatively impacted major airports across Europe, including Paris CDG, a regular in the top rankings for Mega Airports which fell out of this year’s top 20. Despite similar declines in on-time performance, London Heathrow and Frankfurt both managed to hold onto top 20 spots. Impressive considering the falls other airports in Europe experienced, Amsterdam's Schipol had a slight increase in its performance, holding onto the eighth spot on this year’s list of Mega Airports.

Top paying routes for airlines...... The Top Ten

Top 10 Revenue Routes

Have you ever looked at the departures board at an airport and wondered what route out of the hundreds served makes the most money for an airline?

Now, we need to wonder no more as OAG has done the researched and crunched the numbers and have produced a list of the top ten most money making air routes in the world.

Globally one route breaks the billion-dollar threshold and for the airline, it amounts to about 6 percent of its total annual revenue, it is the London Heathrow New York JFK route for British Airways. According to the OAG calculations, the route makes £18,563 / US$24,639 an hour for BA.

Here is the top ten list and some you might find a little surprising, although perhaps learning that Emirates earn more money per hour on its Heathrow - Dubai route than any other airline on any other route may not be a shocker!

15 Airlines Globally Earn Five Stars in OAG’s Latest On-Time Performance Star Ratings

                       OAG,  the global leader in flight information, has released its On-time Performance (OTP) Star Ratings, which accredits the top airlines and airports around the world for superior punctuality performance. Notable carrier performances across the globe include Qantas Airways and Qatar Airways (five stars each) and Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and KLM-Royal Dutch Airlines (four stars each). Japan’s Nagoya Komaki Airport (NKM) and Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) performed exceptionally, earning five and four stars, respectively. British Airways was the highest UK airline, getting just three stars at 77.1 OTP. 

OAG’s annual rating system is a global accreditation program that recognises exceptional OTP across all airports and airlines regardless of size, geographic location or aviation peer group. The awards showcase the industry’s premier performers, with the top ten percent of airlines and airports receiving five stars. The awards are then distributed based on performance across all airlines and airports, with the poorest performers receiving one star. This year’s ratings are based on performance across the 12-months ending in May 2018.

British Airways and easyJet perform well against global competition - OAG Punctuality League 2018

Six European airlines, including two from the UK - British Airways and easyJet are all featured in the top 20 for annual on-time performance (OTP) of the world’s largest airlines, according to the results of the OAG Punctuality League 2018

The OAG punctuality league tables are the aviation industry’s most comprehensive annual ranking of On-Time Performance for the world’s airlines and airports. They are compiled from analysis of around 57 million flight records 

The report from OAG, the global leader in flight information, ranks the two UK-based airlines at 10th and 15th respectively amongst the world’s largest carriers: BA with 79 percent and easyJet with 75 percent of flights both departing and arriving on time. The 2018 report also places easyJet in the top 20 low-cost carriers (LCCs) for punctuality, while Europe-based airBaltic took the top spot as the most punctual airline in the world, with over 90 percent OTP.

John Grant, Senior Analyst at OAG, said: “BA and easyJet are certainly holding their own amongst their global counterparts. In a highly competitive environment, it’s great to see the UK-based airlines reporting an impressive OTP.”

There is more on this story -  Birmingham Airport once again takes a top spot for on-time performance and London Heathrow shows strong on-time performance in new ‘Mega’ airport category