Airline Statistics
IATA: Asia-Pacific demand up 9.8%
September 9th 2016
In July, despite all predictions to the contrary, Asia-Pacific airlines increased their passenger numbers 9.8% year-on-year, reported the International Air Transport Association (IATA) this week. Read More » Capacity to July 31 increased 8.6% and load factor rose 0.9%, to 81.7%. The report suggested Asian passengers are putting off traveling to Europe in favour of regional trips owing to terrorism fears. Traffic on Asia-Europe routes fell by 0.9% in June but international traffic within Asia rose 8.1%, a four-month high.
Asia-Pacific carriers posted the second strongest growth in July, only trailing their Middle Eastern counterparts, who reported 13.1% year-over-year traffic growth after ASKs rose 15.5%, causing load factors to drop 1.7%, to 78.6%.
"Passenger demand has broadly grown in line with the average of the past 10 years, but the industry faces some potential headwinds, including lingering impacts from the series of terrorist attacks and the fragile economic backdrop. The environment in which aviation operates is dynamic, even volatile. Speed is of the essence. As an industry, we must be prepared for rapid innovation to manage shocks and take advantage of opportunities as they arise," said IATA’s new director-general and CEO, Alexandre de Juniac.
