India’s domestic market falls
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Growth falls 2% in August 2012 with load factors slipping at 66.6%…
India’s domestic market fell 2% in August as compared to the previous month. According to the data revealed by International Airport Transport Association (IATA), capacity expanded 0.7% while load factor slipped 66.6%.
The overall domestic traffic grew 4.8%, slightly ahead of a 4.2% rise in capacity with load factor standing at 82.3%. All market, except India and Japan showed growth compared to August 2011 with China dominating with 10.8% growth.
Growth on the international markets remained weak, with overall expansion of 5.3% heavily dependent on seasonal factors. Compared to July, growth in August was flat and load factors were down. Asian airlines climbed just 2.9% in August compared to a year earlier. While this was stronger than the growth rate experienced in July, the actual volume of traffic declined 0.5%, while load factors climbed slightly to 79.4%.
Passenger markets have not grown since June,” said IATA’s Director-General & CEO, Tony Tyler. “In the face of these adverse conditions, disciplined capacity management has kept load factors high. There are always opportunities and some parts of the world are growing. But, overall, trading conditions are tough.”
“Sluggish growth in the US, the continuing sovereign debt crisis in Europe and concerns over the slowdown in the Chinese economy are taking their toll on both business and consumer confidence, said Tyler. “While global passenger traffic was up 5.1% on the previous August, capacity increases trailed with a 4.1% expansion. Along with this, conserving cash and controlling costs are the focus of most airlines as they await more favourable economic conditions,” he added.