PAX up, but cargo weak again in 2012

by ORIENT AVIATION 

March 1st 2013

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Provisional statistics for 2012 show Asia-Pacific airlines carried a total of 207 million international passengers to December 31, 7% more than in the previous year. The performance was underpinned by an improvement in business markets and sustained leisure travel demand. Read More »

International passenger traffic, in RPKs, increased 5.8%, indicating the relative strength of demand on regional short-haul routes. Capacity growth for the year was a relatively conservative 3.9%, which resulted in a 1.5 percentage point increase in the average international PLF, to 77.9%.

International air cargo demand, expressed in FTKs, declined 3.4% in 2012 as a result of continued weakness in global trading conditions. This was matched by a 3.2% reduction in offered freight capacity, which led to a marginal 0.2 percentage points decline in the average international FLF, to 66.5% for the year.

In November last year, Asia-Pacific airlines carried a combined total of 17 million international passengers, an 8.4% increase compared to the same month last year. In revenue passenger kilometre (RPK) terms, international passenger traffic grew 7.8%. Available seat capacity expanded by a slower 3.5%, which resulted in a three percentage point increase in the average international passenger load factor (PLF) to 76.6% for the month.

Overall, the region’s carriers experienced a healthy 7% increase in the number of international passengers carried during the first 11 months of the year, bolstered by continued demand for regional travel.

In total, 188.9 million passengers flew on Asia-Pacific based carriers over the period. Traffic in RPK terms grew 5.8%, whilst available seat capacity expanded 4%, which led to a 1.3 percentage point increase in the average international PLF to 77.9%.

FREIGHT

Asia-Pacific carriers experienced a slight improvement in demand as measured in freight tonne kilometres (FTKs) with a 1.1% increase in November compared with the same month last year. Combined with a 1.6% decline in offered freight capacity, the average international air freight load factor (FLF) climbed 1.8 percentage points to reach 67.7% for the month.

Overall, during the first 11 months of the year, international air cargo traffic declined 3.5%. Available freight capacity fell 3.2%, which resulted in a slight 0.2 percentage point fall in the average international FLF to 66.4%.

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This report was compiled by the Research and Statistics Department of the AAPA Secretariat.