Australia: International flights now 90% full as airlines slow to return

International flights are now jam-packed with 90% of seats full in what is likely to be one of the highest occupancy rates in history. However, the high figures are largely a result of airlines being slow to return in numbers to Australia, with capacity – or seats for sale – down 45% on pre-pandemic numbers. New BITRE figures released by the department of transport continue to show international aviation’s sluggish bounce back from the pandemic. In September, 2,095,503 passengers travelled through the country – 40% lower than the 3,496,774 passengers registered in the same month in 2019. The numbers are though 5% better relatively than August. There were 2,398,759 seats for sale last month, but that was well down on the 4,307,590 available in 2019. The new report read, “In terms of passenger carriage, Qantas had the largest share of the market in September 2022 with 17.6% of the total followed by Singapore Airlines with 12.3%, Jetstar with 11.9%, Air New Zealand with 9.7% and Emirates with 8.0%. The Qantas group – Qantas Airways and Jetstar – accounted for 29.5% of total passenger carriage in September 2022. The group’s share was 0% in September 2021 and 26.4% in September 2019. Australian designated airlines – Qantas Airways, Jetstar and Virgin Australia (2.3%) accounted for 31.8% of total passenger carriage in September 2022. Their share was 0.0% in September 2021 and 32.9% in September 2019.”<br/>