Report says bottom may be near, after which recovery may begin >>
by: Harvey Chipkin
Airline capacity reductions reached their lowest weekly level in a month, according to an analysis by OAG, the airline industry researchers. Global carriers removed about 5 million seats of capacity in the seven days ending April 13, including a 26% week-over-week capacity reduction by US carriers. American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines all cut capacity by about 25% over the past week. Cuts this past week are well below the four-week average of about 58 million seats per week reported by OAG, though there is increasingly little left to cut. Western Europe, the southwest Pacific and lower South America all are operating at 90% lower capacity levels than they were in January. Over the next week, airlines likely will continue cuts, reducing available seats to below the 30 million level—compared with nearly 110 million available in January—which will be the point from which capacity begins to recover, according to OAG analyst John Grant. For many airlines, he said, the middle to end of May appears to be the time to think in terms of bringing back some capacity, “but the situation remains extremely fluid,"
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