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JFK-LHR tops list of long-haul routes this summer

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Long-haul* travel is one of the last areas within aviation to recover, but this summer it is back.  All but two of the top ten long-haul routes are operating an increased number of flights in summer 2023 compared to pre-pandemic.

6/10 of the long-haul routes with most flights this summer are transatlantic routes. Top of the list is JFK-LHR with 9,392 scheduled flights. CDG-JFK sees the biggest increase, with 45.2% more flights than in summer 2019.

Though not featured in the top 10, India is a hotspot of long-haul development. Air India is rapidly expanding as they continue to develop non-stop services to the USA, expand their UK operations with services to LGW, double their services to Australia, and have even launched a new service to Tokyo Haneda.

For China, long-haul connectivity remains a real issue as the relatively late announcement of travel restrictions being eased in the first quarter of the year prevented airlines from planning services, whilst the avoidance of Russian airspace has compounded that issue for European carriers. 21 airlines that operated long-haul services to and from China have yet to return to the market.

*A long-haul flight is classified here as a flight with a sector length of more than 2,500 nautical miles (NM).

 

Table one: Top 10 long-haul airports pairs based on number of flights, Summer 2019 vs Summer 2023

Airport PairSummer 2019Summer 2023Percentage Change
JFK-LHR8,2719,39213.6%
LAX-LHR3,7305,10937.0%
CDG-JFK3,2284,68645.2%
EWR-LHR3,3254,00020.3%
DXB-LHR3,4173,93615.2%
MEL-SIN3,7823,733-1.3%
LHR-ORD3,7633,680-2.2%
SIN-SYD3,3773,6578.3%
BOS-LHR2,8973,43618.6%
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