The number of reserved seats on US domestic and transatlantic flights increased by 6% and 7.8% in July 2024

The peak of the summer travel season is just around the corner in the Northern Hemisphere, and the United States is preparing to welcome a busier summer than last. The planned number of seats on the domestic network has increased by 6%, and the Atlantic Ocean route has increased by 7.8%. Furthermore, in the United States, a record number of passengers was recorded on the weekend of 7/4, and the number of passengers per day is expected to exceed a record high of 3 million people.

According to data from the US domestic network by Cirium, on average, major domestic airlines are planning a 6% increase in flights in July of this year compared to 2023. Of the 13 airlines analyzed, 11 have shown growth in domestic flight networks, and only 2 companies, JetBlue (-9.24%) and Hawaiian Airlines (-1.68%), have a decrease in the number of scheduled seats from 2023/7.

The total number of seats for the four companies American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines was 73,912,333, an increase of 4.4% compared to 2023/7.

While the US domestic market is booming, significant growth is also taking place in another important market. In July this year, the number of seats on transatlantic flights will increase 7.8% from 2023/7.

United Airlines took the lead in this market, followed by Delta Air Lines by a close margin, and each secured 700,000 seats or more this month. However, in terms of the increase in the number of seats on transatlantic routes, Air France (15.2% increase) was the highest, and Iberia (14.5% increase) continued by a close margin.

Among the transatlantic corridors, the number of flights between the US and the UK was the highest in July this year, with more than 4,670 one-way flights. This is a 1.5% increase from the level of 2019/7 before Covid and 21% or more higher than the 2014/7 level, showing remarkable growth in this market over the past 10 years.

From an overall perspective, there is data that Star Alliance member airlines have a strong presence in terms of delivery capacity in the transatlantic market as a whole when compared to SkyTeam and OneWorld Alliance.

As people across the United States celebrate 7/4 and have a long weekend, the TSA has recorded record passenger numbers at all airports in recent weeks, and airports across the United States are preparing for the travel season.

Last week, the TSA announced that the number of passengers at the airport had already increased by 5.4% from 2023, and that for the first time in history, it is forecasting that it will handle a record high of more than 3 million passengers. During this peak period, the TSA expects to screen more than 28 million passengers, and the busiest travel days will be between July 5 and July 7.