CAPA Insights

As the first quarter of 2025 gets underway, some common themes are emerging from route activity across Africa in Jan-2025 and Feb-2025.

In Jan-2025, United Airlines received its 1000th aircraft, a Boeing 737 MAX 9. The carrier is the first airline worldwide to operate a mainline fleet of over 1,000 planes, with a total of 1,004 aircraft as of Feb-2025.

Over the coming years, United is scheduled to take delivery of almost 700 new aircraft including 152 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and more than 500 narrowbodies to support its 'United Next' strategy.

A change in US government and renewed efforts to negotiate an end to the Russia-Ukraine war has been met with enthusiasm from airlines that are hoping for an opportunity to resume Ukraine services.

Istanbul Airport plans to launch triple independent parallel runway operations in Apr-2025, a first for Europe, which is part of a larger expansion plan.

Other airports with expansion plans are Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA), which completed its three runway system in Nov-2024, and London Heathrow Airport, where a third runway project is pending proposal and planning permission.

Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) welcomed two new members, Qantas Airways and Air New Zealand, the association's first member carriers from the South Pacific region.

Valentine's Day in the aviation world is synonymous with the lucrative flower export trade, but Volaris celebrated the occasion with a mammoth route launch announcement.

The carrier announced plans to launch 30 services between Mar-2025 and Jul-2025, covering domestic, transborder and intra-Americas routes.

France recorded nearly 178 million air transport passengers in 2024, just shy of pre-pandemic 2019 levels, with international traffic hitting a record 150.5 million passengers.

However, domestic traffic continued to decline, falling 4.2% year-on-year to 27.4 million, widening the gap from 2019 amid factors such as the short haul flight ban and increased aviation taxes.

While the Paris Olympics provided a temporary boost in visibility, rising costs for airlines suggest an uncertain future for French air traffic growth.

Canada's domestic airline market has long been dominated by Air Canada and WestJet, which currently maintain a combined 72.9% market share as per OAG and the CAPA - Centre for Aviation data.

In third place, Porter Airlines leads the country's regional carriers with a domestic market share of 9.3%, operating almost 90,000 weekly seats across the country. Porter, which launched commercial operations in 2006, currently serves a total of 37 nonstop destinations including 21 Canadian cities and 16 airports in the US.

As Porter expands its network across North America, the small regional carrier takes on competitors in concentrated markets including New York-area airports and sun destinations across Florida.

Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA) recently released its 'Route to Sustainability in Latin America and the Caribbean' report, highlighting progress, challenges and essential strategies for understanding how the region can achieve its sustainability goals.

The general theme of the report is that the region is punching above its weight when it comes to sustainability, especially when compared to some of its wealthier counterparts.

In their joint Passenger Traffic Report, Trends, and Outlook, ACI World and ICAO have outlined their projections for the top 10 country markets for 2042 and 2052.

The forecast highlights the growing importance of Asia Pacific, with countries from the region projected to make up six of the top 10 global markets by 2052, compared to three of the top 10 in 2023.