Airlines axe 60 million seats

(07 August 2008)

Airlines will fly 60 million fewer seats in the last quarter of the year as high oil prices and the credit crunch force carriers to cut services.

The cuts (equivalent to a 7% drop in flights) are likely to lead to higher fares in the run-up to Christmas, with one in 14 seats being pulled from flights.

Routes will be pulled at 275 airports around the world and 3,000 fewer planes will be required, according to the figures provided by the Official Airline Guide.

The US market will be the hardest hit, with over 20 million seats being axed, equivalent to one-third of the global decline.

The decline in the number of seats is even worse than the post 9/11 slump, when only 5% of seats were removed in the following year.

The news comes after British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh warned last week that the airline industry was facing its 'worst ever' trading conditions, after BA cut six European routes.