EUROCONTROL Data Snapshot – regional market segment

26 July 2022: After close co-operation between ERA and EUROCONTROL, in its latest data snapshot, EUROCONTROL has covered its newly-established ‘regional' market segment aimed at providing better clarity and trends for those scheduled flights that operate with aircraft between 19–120 available seats.

Since 2005, EUROCONTROL has used five different market segments: traditional scheduled, low-cost, charter, business aviation and all-cargo, in support of internal and external reporting to stakeholders.

With regional flights providing essential connectivity, it is important that there is clear delineation between those short and medium scheduled flights operated by regional aircraft (ATR, Embraer etc.) and the long-haul markets, and therefore EUROCONTROL have now split  traditional scheduled into two separate segments, namely regional and mainline.

ERA has worked closely with the EUROCONTROL Aviation Intelligence teams during this recategorisation process, working through the various flight plan data streams to identify the most suitable criteria by which to demonstrate the market sector. This work will be useful to better assess the evolution of this segment of the aviation market, and hence identify challenges and opportunities for the future and nourish our policy asks towards EU decision makers.

With members operating a wide and complex range of business models, it is difficult to fully capture all flights operated by regional operators without over-complicating the process. Therefore, whilst some flights will be missed, categorising flights by aircraft type was felt to be the best way forward.

The first snapshot shows that approximately 15 per cent of flights in the EUROCONTROL area are operated by these aircraft types (based on 2019 numbers), whilst looking at the five months of 2022, significant variations across States in terms of regional operations, clearly highlighting the need for essential connectivity in those areas.

The close co-operation between ERA and EUROCONTROL in this context has already reaped dividends, with ERA now receiving regional connectivity data on a regular basis to support our operational and Aaeropolitical teams in their advocacy and lobbying activities on behalf of the membership.

ERA looks forward to continuing to build this relationship over the forthcoming months.

The data snapshot can be found here.