Business Digest
Bargain hunting travelers boost demand
December 1st 2015
Asia-Pacific airlines carried 24.7 million international passengers in August, 6.6% more than the same month last year. Read More » Growth in demand, notably the price-sensitive leisure markets, continued, boosted by affordable fares. Measured in revenue passenger kilometres (RPK), international passenger demand increased by 7.8%, out-pacing the 5.5% expansion in available seat capacity and resulting in a 1.8 percentage point increase in the average international passenger load factor, to the year’s peak of 82.9%.
In the first eight months of the year, the region’s airlines registered an 8.6% increase in the number of international passengers carried, to an aggregate of 184.1 million. Load factors averaged 78.9%, below the global average of 80.2%.
The outlook for air passenger markets remains positive, with competitively priced fares underpinning consumer demand.
Gloomy figures for air freight
The region’s carriers continued to experience weakness in air cargo markets in August, on the back of further contraction in export and import activities. Demand in freight tonne kilometres (FTK) fell by 1.0% in August compared with the same month last year, a slight improvement from the 2.4% year-on-year decline in July. Offered freight capacity expanded by 2.8%, resulting in a 2.3 percentage point fall in the average international freight load factor, to 60.8%, for the month.
International air freight demand increased by 2.9% during the first eight months of the year. The average international air freight load factor of 63.5% was 0.8 percentage points lower than the same period last year, but remains significantly above the global average of 47.0%.
Conditions that led to soft global trade markets are likely to persist, with the weakness in the emerging market economies, notably China, contributing to the slowdown in consumer and business spending.
Asia Pacific passenger traffic to continue upward trend
Asia Pacific airlines carried 22.0 million international passengers in September, 6.0% more than the same month last year. Measured in revenue passenger kilometres (RPK), demand increased by 7.4% reflecting broad support on both short and long haul routes. Combined with the 6.2% expansion in available seat capacity, the average international passenger load factor edged 0.8 percentage points higher to 77.2% for the month.
Air cargo markets remained subdued, with demand in freight tonne kilometre (FTK) terms only matching the same month last year. After accounting for a 2.3% increase in offered freight capacity, the average international freight load factor fell by 1.5 percentage points, to 62.7%, for the month.
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This report was compiled by the Research and Statistics Department of the AAPA Secretariat.
