Many airlines increased their flight volume in August. With more people being vaccinated and the peak of summer holidays, demand looked better than in previous months. However, during the last months, it seemed that carriers such as Ryanair, easyJet, Vueling, and Wizz Air had managed the crisis more efficiently. Therefore, we wanted to know how Europe’s famous flag carriers performed in August. In this context, we selected — and looked at the flight volume, their punctuality, and the number of cancellations of KLM, British Airways, Air France, and SAS. Here are the results!
Europe’s Flga-Carrier — Flight Volume Benchmark
Overall, the four flag carriers airlines operated 63,800 flights in August (148,516). As a result, the combined volume is still below Ryanair’s flight volume in August. Nevertheless, compared to July, the carriers grew by more than 30%. However, the growth rate between the four airlines differs vastly. While KLM and British Airways recorded a record growth rate of more than 37%, SAS grew by only 10%. Moreover, Air France couldn’t increase its volume in August and operated 10% fewer flights than in July.
However, when looking at the flight volume of the four airlines, Air France remains the biggest of the four airlines with 22,400 flights. In August, Ryanair operated more than 70,000 flights — more than any other airline in Europe. Due to immense growth, KLM operated more than 17,000 flights for the first time since the pandemic hit the aviation industry. British Airways ended the month with more than 11,000 flights and SAS with almost 13,000.
Europe’s Flag-Carrier — Punctuality Benchmark
In August, all of the four flag carriers delivered a solid on-time performance. With 94.6% punctual flights, British Airways delivers the best performance of the four. Nevertheless, KLM with 93.4%, Air France with 91.3%, and SAS with 92.9% are all way above the European and global average.
Moreover, it is essential to mention that British Airways, Air France, and SAS improved their annual OTP average massively.
Europe’s Flag-Carrier — Cancellation Benchmark
When looking at cancellations and the reliability of the flag carriers, SAS stands out negatively. In August, the Scandinavian carrier had to cancel more than 300 flights resulting in a very high cancellation rate of 2.4%. British Airways canceled 50, Air France 82, and KLM 112 flights. Nevertheless, due to the higher amount of flights, the cancellation rate is much better than SAS’s.
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