Top ten airlines by capacity growth in 2024

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The airlines delivering the most new capacity during the year

2024 is in the past, but the hangovers may still linger. Therefore, we’re offering a short newsletter this week with a simple quiz.

It was a year of continued airline capacity recovery – some more than others.

Which airlines added the most new capacity to the global system in 2024 compared to 2023? Since we’re looking for total ASK growth, the airlines will all be rather large.

The answer:

China may have been late to the recovery party, but arrived, it has.

Four of the top ten airlines adding capacity in 2024 are based in China. Granted, much of the country’s airline growth is due more to a low base in 2023, but it shows just how critical China has been in the global context last year.

Indeed, as we look forward to our forecasts for the next decade, the key factor, by far, is China. China’s airlines still have a very long way to go to return to prior growth levels, yet the country has made no material moves to rectify. The result is a wide range of future possibilities, all hinging on the actions of one country.