The new OAG report revealed a dramatic realignment in global aviation capacity. While the majority of the world’s top 20 airlines have finally moved past their pre-pandemic benchmarks, a distinct recovery gap has emerged between nimble low-cost carriers (LCCs) and traditional long-haul legacy operators.
The most striking takeaway from the latest figures is the explosive growth of budget-friendly airlines. Prioritizing point-to-point regional routes and fleet modernization, three carriers have redefined “recovery” by expanding far beyond their 2019 footprints:
| Airline | Capacity vs. 2019 |
| Wizz Air | +77.4% |
| IndiGo | +67.5% |
| Ryanair | +44.5% |
This surge highlights a permanent shift in traveler behavior, with IndiGo’s dominance in the Indian domestic market and the relentless European expansion of Wizz Air and Ryanair signaling a new era of high-frequency, low-cost travel.
In contrast, five of the world’s top 20 airlines have yet to return to their 2019 capacity levels. The data suggests that European full-service carriers and long-haul specialists are facing the steepest uphill climb, hampered by slower-recovering business travel segments and geopolitical disruptions.
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Lufthansa: Remains the furthest from recovery at -21.7% compared to 2019.
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All Nippon Airways (ANA): Still trailing by -12.8%.
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Air Canada: Down -12.5%.
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British Airways: Currently sitting at -8.1%.
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Emirates: Nearly at parity, but still -1.0% below its pre-pandemic peak. “The data paints a clear picture of a two-speed recovery,” says industry analysts. “While the ‘leisure surge’ has propelled LCCs to record heights, the complexity of global long-haul networks and the restructuring of hub-and-spoke models have kept legacy giants in a period of protracted stabilization.
As the industry moves deeper into 2026, the focus shifts from “recovering” lost ground to “optimizing” new networks. For the legacy carriers still in the red, the challenge remains balancing profitability with the high operational costs of wide-body fleets, even as their low-cost competitors capture a larger share of the global skies.
