As travel demand continues to ramp back up during the postpandemic recovery, leisure traffic has bounced back more quickly than business traffic in many regions. The divergence between the two categories has had a significant effect on the nature of monthly passenger demand, note senior partner Ludwig Hausmann and coauthors. That’s because leisure travel is linked far more closely to the seasons—with spikes and lulls corresponding with the Northern Hemisphere’s summer and winter, respectively. As a result, many airlines have had to manage the challenge of seasonal profitability swings, as well as a strain on operations and staff during demand peaks. Click through the interactive to see more.
To read the article, see “How airlines can handle busier summers—and comparatively quiet winters,” January 8, 2024.