China airline capacity jumps to almost reach pre-pandemic levels

IBA’s latest Aviation Industry Barometer reveals that passenger ASKs from Chinese operators were trending at 96% of 2019 levels in July 2023, a strong increase from 89% in June 2023.

IBA’s leading aviation intelligence platform, IBA Insight, further shows that in July:

• Monthly global passenger capacity edges closer to a full recovery, reaching 97% of pre-pandemic ASKs in July 2023, a gain of +2% compared to June 2023.

• In July, operators from Africa, North America, Latin America and the Middle East surpassed pre-pandemic capacity, while operators in APAC and Europe continue to lag slightly behind.

• APAC operator capacity has now surpassed 90% of pre-pandemic levels, supported by a strong July within the Chinese market.

• Assessing the current trend, IBA expects global passenger ASKs to surpass 2019 levels by October 2023.

• In July 2023, there were approximately 3.04 million commercial passenger flights, compared to 2.82 million in June 2023, while 2.64 million flights were recorded in July 2022.

• Chinese operators recorded 451k commercial passenger flights in July 2023, compared to 388k in June 2023 and 296k in June 2022.

• There were 110 commercial aircraft deliveries in July 2023, representing a month-on-month and year-on-year variance of -24% and +34% respectively.

• So far during 2023, Airbus A320neo deliveries have averaged 45 per month, compared to Boeing's 737 MAX at 35 per month.