Global air traffic gets Chinese New Year boost
Global air traffic increased 5.7% year-on-year in January 2012, boosted by Chinese New Year.
According to the latest monthly data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the occurrence of Chinese New Year in January, rather than February in 2011, exaggerated the increase in passenger demand. Trend for growth continued from December 2011 however, when traffic increased 5.6%.
With January passenger capacity up 4.2%, average load factors rose 1.1 percentage points to 76.6%.
“The year started with some hopeful news on business confidence. It appears that freight markets have stabilized, albeit at weak levels. And this is having a positive impact on business-related travel. However, airlines face two big risks: rising oil prices and Europe’s sovereign debt crisis. Both are hanging over the industry’s fortunes like the sword of Damocles,” said IATA’s Director General & CEO Tony Tyler.
Asia Pacific airlines saw their international traffic rise 6.0% year-on-year in January. Capacity climbed 6.4% however, causing load factors to dip slightly to 77.5%. IATA noted however, that year-on-year growth would have been softer were it not for the Chinese New Year boost.
The strongest growth was experienced by Middle East airlines, with traffic climbing 14.5%. This represents a return to the growth rates experienced in 2010. The region’s load factors also climbed 2.7 points to 78.5%, making it among the highest of any region.
European carriers experienced a 5.3% increase in traffic versus January 2011. The persisting economic weakness of the region resulted in a considerable drop from the 9.5% growth recorded in December however, and the region’s average load factor remains among the world’s lowest at 75.7%.
North American airlines suffered a 0.3% dip in passenger traffic last month, but tight capacity control enabled airlines to increase average load factors to 77.6%.
Latin American carriers continued to enjoy robust passenger demand. Traffic rose 7.9% in January compared to the same month last year, while capacity increased 7.4%. At 79.9%, the region’s carriers had the strongest load factor.
Finally African airlines reported a 3.6% decline in demand and a 0.8% decline in capacity, with a load factor of 64.8% – the lowest of any region.
In terms of domestic traffic, the impact of Chinese New Year caused Chinese domestic traffic to surge 16.8% year-on-year, with load factors averaging a strong 80.8%. China now accounts for more than 21% of the total global domestic air traffic market.
US January domestic traffic was nearly flat but capacity contracted 1.5%, pushing load factors up to 78.1%. In Japan, demand and capacity were down 8.9% and 8.3% respectively, due to the continued impact of the 11 March disasters and industry restructuring. India’s domestic air traffic rose 8.8% year-on-year, while load factors averaged 74.9%.
“Running an airline in today’s uncertain economic climate is a tough job. Some well-known names — Spanair and Malev — disappeared in January. At the same time, we know that demand for air travel will grow as the global economy recovers and requires even greater connectivity. The billions of dollars in commercial orders placed at the recent Singapore Airshow demonstrate that airlines are strategically investing to meet that demand with ever-more fuel efficient and environmentally-sustainable aircraft,” said Tyler.
“The aviation industry is a catalyst for economic growth. Governments should keep this in mind in their policy initiatives. Measures to boost competitiveness — not taxes or restrictions — are immediately needed, along with a long-term vision to support sustainable economic growth through much needed infrastructure investments,” he added.