Aviation

Insight behind the World’s Top 20 Airlines 2020 by OAG

Insight behind the World’s Top 20 Airlines 2020 new rankings released by OAG.

Insight behind the World’s Top 20 Airlines 2020 by OAG: Take Off provides high-level insight into current airline performance drawing on data from the summer season 2020.

Take Off not only provides data on global rankings, both domestically and internationally, for the Top 20 airlines, but includes data on the number of routes operated (minimum frequency of 1 flight per week), seats, flights, Top 5 airports, capacity trends since the start of the year, and fleet metrics.

The narrative and data, unsurprisingly, are unlike any other year. However, there is, as always, a spectrum of impact. Whilst the Top 20 airlines saw a fall in domestic capacity (seats) of 45% compared to last summer, and international air services reduced by a whopping 82%, some airlines have fared better than others and moved up the global rankings.

airline-rankings-by-summer-seats-rank

Some highlights:

Bolstered by the scale of their domestic market and relative control of the pandemic, Chinese airlines China Southern, China Eastern and Air China have seen the least impact and moved up now placing 2nd, 3rd and 6th, respectively.
Southwest Airlines retains its position as the world’s largest airline, also boosted by its focus on the sizeable US domestic market. Its major US peers, however, have fared much worse as hub operations have been affected by reduced services and consumer preference for direct flights.
The major US carriers, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and United Airlines, have all fallen in terms of rankings as a result of the impact on their hub airports and reduced connectivity between international and domestic flights.
Some airlines have dropped out of the Top 20 airlines in Summer 2020; Emirates and Qatar Airways are two of these, both airlines with no domestic market and reliant on international markets.
Conversely, five airlines make it in to the Top 20 including Japan Airlines, Aeroflot, LATAM and Air Canada which benefit from sizeable domestic markets which have been relatively less affected.
The scale of the fleet changes is apparent in the airline orderbooks which have provision for increasing the narrowbody fleet by 44% and the widebody fleet by 19%.

Related Topics:Airlines Emirates oag Qatar top 20

Aviation

Egypt has signed an agreement with China to purchase J-10C fighter jets

Egypt has become the second country, after Pakistan, to order China’s Chengdu J-10C “Vigorous Dragon” fighter jets, marking a significant shift in its military strategy.

The announcement, made during the inaugural Egypt International Air Show from September 3 to 5 at El Alamein International Airport, reveals Egypt’s intent to replace its aging fleet of U.S. F-16s.

The J-10C, a highly capable 4.5-generation multi-role fighter jet, was showcased by China for the first time on African soil during the air show. It features advanced air-to-air and air-to-ground weaponry, making it a formidable alternative to Egypt’s current fleet.

Known for its air superiority missions, the J-10C has often been compared to the American F-16, which has been the backbone of the Egyptian Air Force since the 1980s.

However, with Egypt’s F-16s now considered outdated against modern air defense systems, the decision to transition to the Chinese fighters underscores a major upgrade in Egypt’s combat capabilities.

This move not only signals Egypt’s intent to reduce its reliance on U.S. defense systems but also reflects a broader shift in its international alliances.

Despite a long-standing defense relationship with the U.S., evidenced by a recent acquisition of C-130J Hercules transport aircraft through the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program, Egypt is clearly looking eastward.

The decision comes amid growing concerns over U.S. policies in the Middle East, including its stance on Israeli operations in Gaza, which may have influenced Cairo’s pivot to Chinese military technology.

China’s increasing presence in the Middle East and North Africa is bolstered by such deals, as Beijing continues to expand its influence through military cooperation and economic partnerships, particularly in energy imports.

The Egypt International Air Show provided a platform for showcasing this growing military-industrial relationship.