• June 12, 2009

The rate of decline in seat capacity among international airlines is lower than at any time since October 2008, according to the Official Airline Guide, an aviation data firm, which released its monthly report on trends in the supply of airline flights and seats.

The London firm says airlines have scheduled 4% or 104,216 fewer flights for June 2009 compared with the same month last year, with a 2% drop in seat capacity of 6.7 million fewer seats. The total number of flights scheduled to operate worldwide this month is 2.43 million, per OAG.

Still, per the firm, last month, the figures were down by 5% and 3% respectively.

David Beckerman, VP OAG Market Intelligence, said in a release, "As the Northern Hemisphere begins its summer holiday season, the airline community is curbing its capacity cuts in anticipation of a welcome boost in air travel. However, we shouldn't assume that this is the start of recovery and growth; the outlook remains uncertain and figures are still down year-on-year, but it does indicate a glimmer of economic confidence."--Karl Greenberg