The study, which examines aircraft itineraries, projects that American airlines will have 83.5 million outbound seats in the first half of this year—a 14.12% increase over the same period last year.
According to EU Helpers, China will rank eighth in terms of air connectivity for the year, but the number of seats available at Chinese airlines will be exponentially higher than in 2023—138.56 percent, to be exact—while the total number of outbound air seats will reach 35.1 million.
With 482,102,279 total flights for these ten nations in the first half of the year, they accounted for 42% of all foreign flights worldwide.
Given that nations like Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom are no longer required to apply for a visa in order to visit China, the data indicates that connection between European countries and China has improved. This action promotes a notable rise in connectivity, providing a total of 1.98 million flight seats.
Compared to just 682,000 seats available in the first half of 2023, this represents an astounding 190% increase. As Mabrian discloses, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently proposed a plan to encourage the return of European tourists, which is in line with this increase. It permits visa-free travel to China for up to 15 days for nationals of France and four other EU member states.
With 72.8 million outward flight seats for the year, up 8.37% from 2023 levels, the United Kingdom is the second-best connected country in the world this year.
Germany, with 53.7 million seats, and Spain, with 0.3 million fewer seats, come in third and third, respectively, with gains of 13.29 and 12.55 percent from the year before.
There will be a 12.24% rise in outgoing air seats for the United Arab Emirates, totaling 41.8 million passenger seats, compared to 41.1 million in France, a 7.40% increase.
When outgoing flight seats are taken into account, the top ten nations with the best air connectivity for the first half of 2024 are Italy (37.2 million seats), China (35.1 million), Turkiye (32.5 million), and Japan (28.9 million).
Japan will see the second-highest rise in air connectivity of all of these nations, with a 48.26% increase in traveler seats.
Markets' Outbound Air Seats: A Comparison in the First Half of 2024 In contrast to 2023
Americas14.12% of 83.5 million
United Kingdom72.8 million, or 8.37%
Germany53.7 million, or 13.29%
Spain53.4 million, or 12.55%
41.8 million United Arab Emirates 12.24%
France41.4 million, or 7.40%
39.2 million in Italy—14.88%
35.1 million in China, or 18.56%
32.5 million Turkiye<9.30%
48.26% – Japan – 28.9 million