Some fairly detailed figures in the paper in the wake of the Terminal 5 fiasco
I was a bit surprised to see that the BA transatlantic load factor dropped ‘as low as’ 72% in April compared to 79% last year. Ryanair (all routes) dropped to 79% from 83%
Even the higher figures for last year are lower than I expected. You get the impression that planes are usually completely full these days. I wonder what the annual figures are
In the 1960s – national flag carrying pre-jumbo days – airlines usually operated on an expectation of a 60% annual average load factor. Since August & December were usually close to 100%, the rest of the year gave those who did fly a luxurious amount of space, even in Economy
Luxury came at a price however. The return fare London-Barbados was about £300 (in 1960s £s) – one-third of a years gross salary for a young teacher
You can probably get a ticket for not much more than that in 2008 £s
Related post: Baggage
