Airlines chided for upping cram factor in economy

Travelport has rebuked American Airlines and Emirates for putting the squeeze on economy seats.

Travelport chief executive Gordon Wilson says the world is getting worse for economy-class air travellers. Picture: Renee Nowytarger

One of the world’s major travel players yesterday issued a mild rebuke to Qantas’s close allies, American Airlines and Emirates.

The London-based chief executive of Travelport, Gordon Wilson, revealed that American Airlines was continuing to pack more economy seats on to its aircraft, which he described as a bad move for budget travellers.

“Airline capacity is growing at about 7 per cent on a global basis because of a combination of more low-cost airline growth, more Chinese airline growth, and there’s a trend towards ‘densification’ where airlines are putting more seats on the same aeroplane,” Mr Wilson said.

Mr Wilson said Emirates recently converted some of its A380s to accommodate 615 seats. “There are no showers and no first class, it is all business and economy.

“Since 2014 the average number of seats per aircraft flown has gone from 137 to 142, which is the fact that American Airlines has put 10 extra seats on their Boeing 737s and put an extra 42 seats on their Boeing 777 wide-bodied aircraft.

“The world is getting worse for the economy class passenger. One of the trends for the economy passenger is it is getting tighter on the plane,” Mr Wilson said.

“It is not just American Airlines but Delta has also done it.”

A lawyer by training, Mr Wilson’s company, Travelport, which recently listed on the New York Stock Exchange, makes the software that helps users book at more than 400 airlines and 650,000 ­hotels.

Mr Wilson said Chinese carriers had increased capacity into Australia by about 40 per cent for the summer and they had added 24 per cent capacity into North America.

Mr Wilson said Air China was now the biggest Asian airline into Europe, supplanting Singapore Airlines.

“The Chinese are trying to do the same as Middle Eastern carriers,” he said.

He added that airline growth was good for Travelport’s business because it was primarily a transaction-based business.

“The way we make money, (for us) the more transactions the better. It is good for our business.” Mr Wilson, who is in Dallas this week attending the World Travel and Tourism Council Summit, said the yield is higher on the sale of international tickets.

Australia is the London-based Travelport’s fourth-largest customer servicing clients including Flight Centre, Helloworld, Webjet and corporate travel agencies like Hogg Robinson.

Travelport has a strong association with Australia and recently increased its ownership of Melbourne-based Locomote, which it bought several years ago from Melbourne entrepreneur Philip Weinman from a 49 per cent stake to a majority stake.

“With Locomote we have very big growth plans and will be investing further going forward,” Mr Wilson said.

Although Travelport, which turns over about $US2.2 billion annually, is privy to the number and cost of travel bookings for its Australian clients Mr Wilson would not comment on how his customers were financially performing.

“We are the priests of the travel industry, we take confessions but we don’t disclose anything,” he said.

Lisa Allen travelled to Dallas courtesy of the WTTC and United Airlines.