AvTalk Episode 82: Setting all the wrong records

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On this episode of AvTalk, we see how far air traffic fell in March and what we’re likely to see in April. We also take a look at some of the more interesting flights that airlines have operated in the past few weeks. And Georgios Hatzimanolis from Marine Traffic joins us to compare notes on what their data can tell us about how COVID-19 is affecting the global economy.

And the bottom falls out

The first week of March saw global traffic still up 4.5%, but the final week of the month traffic was down 55% from 2019 levels and traffic overall was 21.6% lower than 2019 in March. Airlines have reacted in different ways, but the number of flights continues to fall and the number of stored aircraft continues to rise.

Comparing notes with Marine Traffic

Georgios Hatzimanolis from Marine Traffic joins us to compare notes on what their ship tracking data can tell us about the state of the global economy.

Strange routes because of COVID-19

SAS flying to South America, Ethiopian Airlines flying between Chicago and New Orleans, and Lufthansa in New Zealand, among others. We discuss some of the most interesting flights we’ve seen in the past few weeks.