U.S. airline capacity growing
2010-11-16
Recent research indicates that the capacity on flights from the U.S. is experiencing increases following a long period of steady decline.
Aviation research company OAG found that domestic capacity increased 3 percent this month with respect to November 2009. According to the Associated Press, OAG claims that domestic capacity had been on a steady decline until August, when it experienced modest growth of 0.8 percent.
The research firm claims that most recent growth in capacity has been concentrated on international flights, but this trend is slowing. Growth on international flight capacity reportedly peaked in July, when it hit 6 percent. In November, growth in international flight capacity grew 4 percent.
Capacity is measured in seat-miles, which is a product of the length of a flight and the total number of seats available on it. Airlines can increase capacity by using larger planes to fly certain routes or by flying more planes along a given route.
The news source reports that if airlines increase capacity before demand can catch up, prices for airline tickets would be likely to drop.
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