Winter Seats Rise 2.2% to 2.54 Billion, with Italy Fastest Growing

Airlines are set to operate around 2.54 billion seats in the 2026-2027 Northern Winter season, a 2.2% increase from 2.49 billion a year earlier, according to Aviation Week data.

Scheduled flights will rise by only 0.9% to 15.68 million flights, meaning the increase stems partly from larger aircraft and higher seating density, as the average seats per flight rise from 160.1 to 162.3.

International capacity grows 2.9% to 1.04 billion seats, while domestic capacity rises 1.8% to 1.5 billion. The United States remains the largest market at about 517.6 million seats, up 3%, followed by China at about 399.9 million seats, up 3.8%.

Italy leads major markets in growth with an 11.3% increase to 53 million seats, while Iran records a drop of 48.3%, Russia 13% to 33.2 million seats, and Nepal 34.6%. Riyadh's capacity rises 10.7%, while Dubai maintains second place among airports with about 24.9 million seats.

What Do These Terms Mean?

Capacity: The number of seats offered for sale on scheduled flights, usually measured in seats or available seat kilometers, and differs from the number of flights.

Seats Per Flight: The average number of seats per single flight, which increases when airlines use larger aircraft or higher seating density.

Northern Winter Season: The flight schedule period running roughly from late October to late March, during which demand differs from the summer season.