The Americas Lead Airline Capacity Recovery in 2023
Photo Credit: Aerial view of a plane at Newark International Airport in New Jersey. Unsplash / Chris Leipelt
Skift Take
North and South America have been standout performers in leading the industry's capacity recovery post pandemic. While this was anticipated, there are noteworthy shifts in interregional capacity from North America to the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
The Americas became the first region to recover to pre-pandemic capacity in the first half of 2023. Airline capacity, measured in Available Seat Miles (ASMs), is the number of passenger seats available on any given route, and while it does not take load factors (occupied seats) into consideration, it’s a good indicator of expected demand by airlines. Owing to a substantial intra-regional rebound in capacity, both North and South America have recovered to pre-pandemic levels.
Beyond intra-regional travel, travel to other regions (interregional) from North America is yet to recover fully in the first half of 2023. The distribution, however, has shifted, with flights to and from the Middle East nearly doubling, routes to Africa increasing capacity by over 60%, and Europe seeing a nearly 5% increase from pre-covid levels. All
