Airlines over the past week removed about 2.5 million scheduled seats globally, putting the bottom of capacity cuts in sight even with more cuts slated, according to analysis by OAG.
The most recent cuts put global air capacity at 29.8 million seats for the week, down about 75 percent over the past 14 weeks, OAG reports. Week over week, capacity was down 7 percent.
Most remaining capacity is domestic, with international capacity down to about 500,000 seats per week, compared with an average of 5.9 million seats per week prior to the Covid-19 crisis, according to OAG analyst John Grant. Markets that have seen the smallest domestic capacity declines include the United States, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, he said.
More cuts next week could drop capacity below the 29 million mark, though Grant said a slowdown in the rate of cuts indicates "we are now close to the bottom." Japan's two largest carriers, Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways, have schedule cuts taking effect this week.
"Looking forward, quite a few airlines have scheduled capacity to be added back in from around the middle of May, and we will have a look at some of that data in the coming weeks as [we] identify more of the green shoots of recovery that will be coming along," Grant said. "But, as always, only time will tell."