Understanding true market demand: new tools help airports combat traffic leakages, add air service
Understanding true market demand: new tools help airports combat traffic leakages, add air serviceAnalysis
In the fiercely competitive world of air service development, data is power - and timing is everything.
As airports globally work to recover and grow in a post-pandemic aviation landscape, the stakes have never been higher when it comes to understanding passenger behaviour, identifying missed opportunities, and making the right case to airlines.
That's where Aviation Week Network's newly enhanced 'Catchment Analyzer' arrives with timely relevance, offering airports and route developers a sophisticated lens into their true market potential.
Summary
- Aviation Week Network has launched a new 'Catchment Analyzer' tool for route development professionals.
- The enhanced Catchment Analyzer offers a more accessible and powerful online platform for market analysis.
- The tool enables airports to visualise true market demand and identify traffic leakage to competitor airports.
- Users can analyse visitor origination patterns and market share compared to competing airports.
- Detailed data by the operating airline is available to inform route development strategies.
- The Catchment Analyzer is now available, with demonstrations offered to interested aviation professionals.
The changing landscape of Air Service Development
Air Service Development has always been a complex balancing act - requiring a blend of local market understanding, airline relationships, and data-driven strategy.
But in the aftermath of COVID-19, the challenge has evolved. Recovery has been uneven, consumer travel patterns have shifted, and airlines are now more selective than ever about where they deploy capacity.
Airports, especially secondary and regional ones, are under renewed pressure to justify their route development strategies with clear evidence of demand and potential profitability. Funding for air service incentives is finite, and communities are watching closely to see their airports bounce back as enablers of economic recovery and regional connectivity.
In this context, the importance of accurate, granular data cannot be overstated. Route proposals must be built not on assumptions, but on a deep understanding of who is flying, where they're going, and crucially where they're currently leaking to.
Traffic Leakage: a hidden drain on airport performance
One of the most persistent challenges faced by airports is traffic leakage - the phenomenon where passengers within a catchment area opt to use a different, often larger, or better-connected airport.
Leakage distorts the true market potential of an airport, making it harder to pitch new routes to airlines or defend existing services. In some cases, leakage can mean thousands of passengers - and millions in potential revenue - going unaccounted for.
Leakage often occurs silently.
Airports may only see part of the demand picture from their own data sources, missing the broader flow of travellers who drive or train to competing hubs for better fares, schedules, or direct connections. Without visibility into these patterns, route development efforts are hampered, and valuable opportunities slip through the cracks.
Catchment Analyzer: bringing clarity to catchment challenges
Recognising the need for sharper tools, Aviation Week Network has launched a newly enhanced Catchment Analyzer, designed to empower route development professionals with a far more accurate and accessible view of their market.
Developed by ASM Global Route Development Consultants, the tool builds on decades of trusted industry insight, and brings it into a modern, online platform that's built for speed, depth, and clarity.
Aviation Week Network has launched a new Catchment Analyzer tool for route development professionals.
Source: Aviation Week Network.
At its core, the Catchment Analyzer enables users to:
- Visualise true market demand in their airport catchment area, showing both outbound and inbound routing patterns;
- Identify leakage to competing airports using postcode-level analysis, revealing where passengers are opting for alternative gateways;
- Understand visitor origination patterns, which helps airports and tourism boards align their marketing and partnership strategies;
- Compare market share versus competitor airports, providing a benchmark for performance and identifying growth potential;
- Access detailed airline-level data, allowing users to fine-tune route proposals with the right airline partners in mind.
This level of intelligence transforms the way airports approach route development.
No longer do they need to rely solely on legacy passenger data or broad assumptions. With the Catchment Analyzer, they can make a much more compelling case to airlines: grounded in up-to-date, localised data that tells a richer, more accurate story.
Understanding resident and visitor traffic
For the resident traffic, Catchment Analyzer blends search data with population census data and the airport's actual flown passenger data reported by direction of travel, to give a true picture of where resident passengers are originating by their postal code in a catchment area, which airport they are departing from and where they are travelling to.
Search data is rightsized using census data to smooth out the peaks and troughs that are inherently generated through search.
The smoothed data is then calibrated to the airport's actual flown passenger data (using Final MIDT data) to create a data set of the resident traffic in the catchment area. Resident traffic is usually far higher than the airport's flown traffic, as it includes traffic using competitor airports and passengers who choose to use surface transport to start their air journey from a further-away departure airport.
Visitor traffic is a blend of hotel search data with hospitality data, and again the airport's actual flown passenger data reported by direction of travel to give a true picture of where visitor traffic is originating from by their departure airport, and where they are arriving via, and then where they are staying by postal code in a catchment area.
A strategic asset at a critical moment
As the global aviation sector continues to rebuild, tools like the Catchment Analyzer are becoming essential - not optional - for competitive airports.
Airlines are scrutinising every new route for viability. Communities are demanding more air connectivity to drive economic growth. And airport executives must justify their development decisions in boardrooms and public meetings alike.
By illuminating hidden demand and identifying leakage, the Catchment Analyzer positions airports to act with confidence and precision. It doesn't just measure the market - it helps unlock its potential.
In a landscape where every route counts, and every passenger matters, having the right intelligence can mean the difference between stagnation and sustainable growth.
The Catchment Analyzer offers a vital edge for those ready to compete smarter.
FIND OUT MORE...
You can learn more about the new Catchment Analyzer tool here or by watching the following presentation from Aidan Mooney, Vice President of ASM Global Route Development Consultants, at Routes World in Hong Kong in Sep-2025.
Aidan Mooney, Vice President of ASM Global Route Development Consultants, showcases the Catchment Analyzer tool at Routes World 2025
Source: Aviation Week Network.
