IBA’s latest Aviation Industry Barometer reveals that, for the first time since the start of the pandemic, passenger ASKs from Chinese operators have surpassed 2019 levels. This is supported by a growing domestic market within the country.
IBA’s aviation intelligence platform, IBA Insight, further shows that in August monthly global passenger capacity edged closer to a full recovery, reaching 98% of pre-pandemic ASKs in August 2023, a gain of +1% compared to July 2023.
IBA expects global passenger ASKs to surpass 2019 levels by October 2023.
Overall, there were approximately 3.08 million commercial passenger flights in August 2023, compared to 3.04 million in July 2023, while 2.64 million flights were recorded in August 2022.
Some 490 thousand commercial passenger flights were recorded by Chinese operators in August 2023, compared to 452 thousand in July 2023 and 287k in August 2022.
There were 89 commercial aircraft deliveries in August 2023, representing a month-on-month and year-on-year variance of -25% and +16% respectively.
So far during 2023, Airbus A320neo deliveries have averaged 45 per month, compared to Boeing's 737 MAX at 33 per month.