IATA Reports 5.5 Percent Rise in Air Travel Demand in September

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said global passenger traffic results for September continued to strong demand despite a slight slowdown from August. Total revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs) rose 5.5 percent compared to September 2012. Capacity increased at a slightly lower pace at 5.3 percent over the same period. The load factor in September (80.3 percent) was largely in line with levels achieved in September 2012.

“We are seeing a more positive environment for air travel demand, based on rising business confidence, a strong increase in export orders in September, and better performance of key emerging markets like China,” said Tony Tyler, IATA’s director general and CEO. “The strong growth of recent months, coupled with the continuing improvements in air travel demand in September, suggests that there could be a further acceleration in air travel growth before the end of the year.”

September international passenger demand was up 5.7 percent compared to the same period in 2012. An equivalent increase in capacity led to load factor remaining unchanged at 80.9 percent when compared to September 2012. All regions saw demand increase compared to a year ago.

Asia-Pacific carriers recorded an increase of 8.5 percent compared to September 2012, the strongest performance among the three biggest regions. Downward pressure on growth during recent past months appears to have eased. Improvement in China’s third quarter GDP growth and Japan’s economy are supporting international air travel on airlines in the region. Capacity growth of 7.1 percent pushed load factor up 1 percentage point to 78.1 percent.

Europe airline international traffic climbed 3.4 percent in September compared to the year-ago period. Capacity rose 3.1 percent, pushing load factor up 0.3 percentage points to 83.9 percent. Modest economic improvements continue to support growth. Improvements in manufacturing and export activities, and the acceleration in trade growth should help support international air travel demand on European carriers for the remainder of the year.

North American airlines saw demand rise 2.3 percent compared to a year ago, but a slowdown on the August growth of 5.1 percent. Capacity growth (3.1 percent) outpaced demand, pushing down load factor 0.6 percentage points to 83.9 percent. Consumer confidence and business activity has been improving throughout the third quarter, but there could be some temporary downward pressure in the coming months due to the 17-day U.S. government shutdown.

Middle East carriers continued to show the strongest year-over-year traffic growth at 10.4 percent. The trend is likely to continue, with economies such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates showing continued strong growth in non-oil producing sectors and robust increases in new export orders. Capacity expanded by 13 percent, pushing down load factor 1.9 percentage points to 77.2 percent.

Latin American airlines posted a demand growth of 8.3 percent in September. While Brazil continues to suffer from rising inflation and weakening consumer demand, other economies, such as Colombia, Peru and Chile, are expanding strongly. Capacity grew 6.1 percent while load factors rose 1.7 percentage points to 80.9 percent.

African airlines’ traffic grew 6.9 percent compared to September 2012, while capacity rose 7.4 percent, pushing down load factor 0.3 percentage points to 73.2 percent. The strong economic growth in several emerging economies, including Ghana and Nigeria, as well as increased trade activity, is supporting the demand growth.

Source: Travel Pulse, http://www.travelpulse.com/iata-reports-55-percent-rise-in-air-travel-demand-in-september.html