Global airline capacity at 105% of pre-pandemic levels with sustained year on year growth

• Chinese airline capacity now at 113% of 2019 levels

IBA’s latest Aviation Industry Barometer revealed that the airline industry’s global passenger capacity is significantly ahead of pre-pandemic levels with Q3 2024 available seat kilometres (ASKs) at 105% of those in Q3 2019. Year on year, global capacity continues to increase, with ASKs in Q3 2024 6.9% ahead of Q3 2023.

The highest growth came from the Asia Pacific region, where ASKs have grown 10.9% year on year, particularly in international capacity.

Data from IBA’s leading aviation intelligence platform, IBA Insight, further showed that in the third quarter of 2024:

• Compared to pre-pandemic levels, Latin America has seen the strongest capacity growth (119% vs Q3 2019), followed by Africa (113%), North America (107%), Asia Pacific (104%), the Middle East (103%), and Europe (101%).
• Passenger ASKs from Chinese operators were at 113% of 2019 levels in Q3 2024.
• Overall, there were approximately 9.42 million commercial passenger flights during Q3 2024 - a YoY increase of 4.7% compared to Q3 2023. During this period, international flight volumes grew 8.5% YoY, while domestic travel showed more modest growth at 2.5% YoY.
• There were 323 commercial aircraft deliveries in Q3 2024, representing a variance of 6% and -24% to Q3 2023 and Q3 2018 respectively.
• From Q1 to Q3, Airbus A320neo deliveries have averaged 45 aircraft per month, compared to the Boeing 737 MAX at 25 per month.
• 1.50m commercial passenger flights were recorded by Chinese operators (airlines) in Q3 2024, compared to 1.38m in Q3 2023 and 1.27m in Q3 2019.