OAG announced this analysis:
- 60% of the top ten long-haul flights (based on seats) for the 2023 summer season are transatlantic routes, according to new OAG analysis.
- The Indian long-haul market is one to watch as Air India expands services.
- China is further behind as 21 operators of long-haul services are yet to return to the market.
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 (based on capacity) are operating a higher level of capacity in summer 2023 than pre-pandemic, and overall, long-haul capacity sits 9% behind its summer 2019 level. See Table one, below.
6/10 of the long-haul routes with most capacity are transatlantic routes. Top of the list is JFK-LHR with 9,392 seats. CDG-JFK sees the biggest increase in capacity, operating with 45.2% more seats 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, Summer 2019
| Airport Pair | Summer 2019 | Summer 2023 | Percentage Change |
| JFK-LHR | 8,271 | 9,392 | 13.6% |
| LAX-LHR | 3,730 | 5,109 | 37.0% |
| CDG-JFK | 3,228 | 4,686 | 45.2% |
| EWR-LHR | 3,325 | 4,000 | 20.3% |
| DXB-LHR | 3,417 | 3,936 | 15.2% |
| MEL-SIN | 3,782 | 3,733 | -1.3% |
| LHR-ORD | 3,763 | 3,680 | -2.2% |
| SIN-SYD | 3,377 | 3,657 | 8.3% |
| BOS-LHR | 2,897 | 3,436 | 18.6% |
| Total | 942,820 | 855,254 | -9.3% |