Out of the thirty carriers which report data, 30% enjoyed passenger growth of more than 11% for the period, while a third failed to achieve positive growth. 33% achieved 0-5% growth, an increase of 19 points on the same period last year.
Passenger load factor remains strong, however, and at 57,6% represents an increase of 1,2 points over 2000. Meanwhile, departure punctuality on average has shown the best overall performance since 1994 with 61% of flights departing on time, a 5% improvement on the same period last year. The percentage of flights leaving within 15 minutes of their planned departure time increased by 3% to 80%. ATC and reactionary reasons still accounted for the greatest proportion of delay during the first half of 2001.
Other points worth noting are:
Hours and landings saw a steady increase, particularly in the second quarter
Turboprop monthly utilisation experienced an increase of 5 hours
Turbofan (jet) monthly utilisation reduced by 7 hours
The number of aircraft in the ERA fleet has grown by almost 8% since the beginning of 2001
Average sector time remained constant
Flight crew hours and landings also experienced no growth from March 2001
Aircraft seating capacity (ASC) has remained constant at 63 seats since the beginning of 2001. (Since Jan 2001, ASC is based on data for the entire ERA membership and not, as previously, on reporting carriers` data only).
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
