Passenger air travel

Air ticket booking systems

Main article: Air ticket booking systems

Air transportation in Russia

Main article: Passenger air transportation in Russia

• Air cargo (Russian market)

Global market

Airports in the world

Main article: Airports in the world

Aircraft (Global Market)

Main article: Aircraft (global market)

2024: Chinese companies dominate air travel market between China, North America and Europe due to access to flights over Russia

Western airlines are cutting flights China in - a combination of low demand and the high cost of flying airspace Russia undermines their ability to compete with local carriers.

As of July 2024

2023

The volume of the global air transportation market for the year grew to $800 billion

In 2023, the total volume of the global air transportation market exceeded $800 billion. The industry is actively recovering in North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. This is stated in a study by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the results of which TAdviser got acquainted with in mid-December 2024.

The air transportation sector suffered greatly against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, due to which tourist destinations were closed, international events were canceled, etc. As the severe restrictions associated with the spread of the coronavirus are lifted, the demand for flights and air transportation of goods began to recover, however, there are difficulties that negatively affect the market. Among them, the authors of the study name geopolitical tensions, the formed macroeconomic situation, volatility in oil prices, high interest rates and staff shortages.

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Freepik

Despite the rapid growth in demand for passenger traffic and the absence of travel restrictions, the aviation industry is still struggling with the consequences of the pandemic, during which it recorded a historic loss of almost $140 billion, the IATA report said.

In 2023, airline revenues from passenger traffic reached $642 billion, which is 47% more than in 2022, and 7% more compared to 2019. According to analysts, the throughput of airlines continued to recover in 2024, but the growth rate of revenue decreased to 12%. In the freight segment, the companies' revenue in 2023 decreased by about 35% compared to the previous year, which was due to both a decrease in demand and a drop in freight rates. The largest reduction was recorded in North America and Europe.^[1]

Traffic growth by 36.9%

At the end of 2023, the volume of global passenger air transportation rose by 36.9% compared to the previous year and reached approximately 94.1% of the indicator observed before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Such data are reflected in the report of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which was published on January 31, 2024.

International traffic in 2023 increased by 41.6% compared to 2022 and reached 88.6% of the 2019 level. The volume of domestic passenger air transportation on an annualized basis increased by 30.4% and exceeded the 2019 figure by 3.9%. Significant growth is associated with the lifting of restrictions imposed during the pandemic and the restoration of tourist flows. Analysts say the improvement is giving a positive boost to the global economy.

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IATA

Airlines in the Asia-Pacific region reported an increase in international traffic during 2023 by 126.1% compared to 2022: this is the highest figure among all markets. The volume of traffic of European carriers on an annualized basis rose by 22%. Middle Eastern airlines registered growth of 33.3%, while African carriers registered growth of 38.7%. North American companies reported annual traffic growth of 28.3%, while Latin American carriers increased traffic by 28.6% compared to 2022.

The study notes that China's domestic air traffic in 2023 increased by 138.8% compared to the previous year, 7.1% higher than in 2019. Australia (minus 4.2% compared to 2019) and Japan (minus 3.2% relative to the level before the COVID-19 period) are the only major domestic markets that in 2023 could not fully restore demand for air passenger traffic.^[2]

20 airlines in the world went bankrupt in a year

At the end of 2023, almost two dozen airlines went bankrupt on a global scale. We are talking about both relatively small local and regional operators, and quite large carriers. This is stated in a study by the independent consulting company Allplane, the results of which were published on December 31, 2023.

It is noted that in 2023, many airlines benefited from the tourist boom associated with the lifting of severe restrictions imposed in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, other carriers faced significant financial difficulties and were forced to file for bankruptcy in order to protect against creditors or completely curtail operations. Among the key problems of small carriers are the rise in fuel prices and fierce competition against the background of vague prospects in the current macroeconomic situation.

At the end of 2023, almost two dozen airlines went bankrupt on a global scale

In particular, in 2023, iAero Airways, formerly known as Swift Air (based in Greensboro, North Carolina), declared bankruptcy. It operates a large fleet of Boeing 737 aircraft. It is reported that the debts of this operator reached $1 billion. In addition, the bankruptcy in 2023 was announced by the British Flybe, which was forced to stop all air traffic. And the American Red Way curtailed operations just three months after organizing flights. Other airlines that went bankrupt in 2023 included:

• Cascadia Air (Canada);
• Flyr (Norway);
• Novair (Sweden);
• Aeromar (Mexico);
• Viva Air (Colombia );
• Ultra Air (Colombia);
• Niceair (Iceland);
• GoFirst (India);
• Fly Gangwon (South Korea);
• Air Moldova (Moldova);
• Thai Smile (Thailand);
• Buta Airways (Azerbaijan);
• Swoop (Canada);
• MY Airways (Malaysia);
• JC International Airlines (Cambodia);
• Equair (Ecuador);
• Hi Air (South Korea).^[3]

2022: Growth in air travel to 68.5% from pre-Covid-19

The International Air Transport Association in February 2023 announced that global air travel in 2022 reached 68.5% of the level recorded before the Covid-19 pandemic.

2020: The number of air travel in the world in March decreased by 63% due to coronavirus

According to the industry research company Cirium, in March 2020, the number of flights in the world decreased by 63% compared to the same period in 2019. In the United States, passenger air travel has become 95% less due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic and the measures introduced to combat it.

By the end of April 2020, a total of 16 thousand passenger aircraft are idle. For two-thirds of liners, the main task is to ensure such conditions on the ground so that the equipment maintains its flight readiness by the time the market recovers.

Number of performed and canceled international flights from and to Italy, Cirium data

Parking costs for airlines are very significant - according to the data that leads to Bloomberg a large plane parking at the airport can cost a thousand a dollars day. The International Air Association transport (IATA) has asked countries around the world to reduce parking rates - under normal conditions, they usually do not exceed 2% of airport revenues, but now the survival of airlines depends on them. 

Due to the cancellation of a huge number of flights, most airlines either reduced staff (this primarily affected the employees responsible for aircraft maintenance) or sent people on paid leave.

Number of performed and canceled international flights from and to Italy, Cirium data

In the 30-day period from March 14 to April 12, 2020, about 245,000 air travel between the United States and Europe was planned with the participation of about 5.5 million passengers. The cancellation of only these flights resulted in a loss of revenue of $2 billion.

 London Heathrow Airport suffered the most, which during this period was supposed to receive 820 thousand passengers. The three most severely affected air harbors also included Paris International Airport - Charles de Gaulle (370 thousand) and   Frankfurt am Main International Airport (340 thousand). Airports in Amsterdam and Dublin missed 290 thousand and 160 thousand passengers, respectively.^[4]

2008

The global passenger air transportation market experienced the 2008 crisis with a decline in growth from 8.8% in 2007 to 1.5% in 2008 and a 4% drop in passenger numbers in 2009. There was also a decrease in the filling of the aircraft with passengers. So in 2008, the percentage of seat employment decreased to 76.5% since 2007, when the percentage was 77.1%. And already in 2009, the percentage fell to 74.2%.

In general, it can be noted that the global air transportation market of passengers has practically improved in two years and has again gone into growth. Although at the end of 2017, the pre-crisis growth rate (2007 - 8.8%) has not yet reached. The main reason can be called the deterioration of the general geopolitical situation in the world associated with wars in the Middle East.

As for the forecasts for the development of the global market for 2018, according to forecasts of UNWTO (World Tourism Organization), the total passenger traffic of airlines around the world in 2018 may increase by 10%. The main reason for such a sharp growth of the market over the past 10 years, they consider the global economic recovery, which will affect the high demand for international and local tourism. Analysts at Uniteller (Uniteller Platform) Pre-Processing Settlement Center (PRC) are less optimistic in their forecasts and believe that the global passenger air transportation market will grow by no more than 7-8% in 2018. Thus, it can be expected that the global passenger traffic by the end of 2018 will amount to 4.3-4.5 billion people.

Notes