Asian airline traffic growth slows
Asia Pacific airlines carried a combined total of 17.0 million international passengers in October, a 2.7% increase compared to the same month last year.
Measured in revenue passenger kilometre (RPK) terms however, international passenger traffic growth slipped to just 2.1%, although this still outpaced a 0.9% expansion of available seat capacity, allowing average load factors to climb to 76.6%.
The rate of growth is weaker however, than the 3.3% seen in September 2012 and the 6.9% growth achieved in the first 10 months of the year.
“Traffic numbers for the month of October indicate a continuation of the slower growth trend already apparent in the third quarter of the year, with regional traffic holding up relatively well, but some softening of demand for long-haul travel markets,” said AAPA Director General, Andrew Herdman.
“Asia Pacific airlines are still facing a very challenging operating environment, clouded by uncertainties over the global economic outlook. Competitive market pressures, and the impact of persistently high fuel prices, have pushed up breakeven load factors, and are spurring further efforts to deploy newer more fuel-efficient aircraft, whilst carefully managing overall capacity,” he added.