The Official Airline Guide (OAG) (website: www.oag.com) has revealed that overall capacity of worldwide airline schedules look set to fall as a consequence of ongoing economic turmoil.
According to the industry body, unrelenting problems in global financial markets are impacting airline operations more severely than had initially been thought.
While there appears to be no shortage of carriers enticing holidaymakers with cheap flights, it appears overall passenger numbers will continue to head south this winter.
Flight numbers and seating capacity within Europe are among the worst hit, with 5 per cent fewer services expected to take to the skies in the fourth quarter of this year than 2007.
“With economic problems now impacting both Europe and Asia this picture could change quickly as airlines are extremely vulnerable and quick to react to economic downturns and subsequent shifts in market demand,” noted Steve Casley, OAG spokesman.
Despite the fall in global capacity, analysts insist that people can still snap up good deals by booking as far in advance as possible and opting for less convenient times to fly (Read Cheapflights’ guide to finding cheap flights).
