Business Digest
Early year boost for PAX numbers
February statisics
June 1st 2012
The number of international passengers carried by Asia-Pacific based airlines in February increased by 4.6% to 15.3 million compared to the same month last year, This rise in traffic was driven by sustained levels of consumer spending and business investment within the region and improvements in the U.S. economy. Read More »
Measured in revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs), international passenger traffic grew 5%, whilst available seat capacity expanded 5.8%, which resulted in a 0.6 percentage point fall in the average international passenger load factor (PLF) to 75.4%.
During the first two months of 2012, international passenger demand, in RPKs, increased 5.7%. Passenger load factors have held up relatively well this year, averaging 76.9% in January and February, just 0.4 percentage points lower than the same period last year. The region’s average international PLF is slightly higher than the global average of 75.6%.
FREIGHT
In February, Asia-Pacific carriers saw an 8.7% year-on-year freight tonne kilometre (FTK) increase in international air cargo demand, mainly as a result of deferments in cargo shipments during the Chinese New Year holidays which fell on dates in January this year.
The jump in demand, combined with a comparatively slower increase in available freight capacity by 6.4%, led to a 1.4 percentage point increase in the average international freight load factor (FLF) to 66.4% for the month.
For the first two months of the year, cargo demand fell 3.8%, a reflection of weak trading conditions and slow demand, mainly from the European economies. Coupled with a 0.7% decline in freight available capacity, international FLFs for Asia-Pacific carriers averaged 63.1%, 2.1 percentage points lower than the same period last year. Nevertheless, the region’s average international FLF remains significantly higher than the global average of 47.8%.
MARCH
Supported by an improvement in business travel markets, preliminary figures show airlines based in the Asia-Pacific region carried a combined total of 17.2 million international passengers in March, 10.6% more than in the same month last year. Passenger demand, as measured in RPKs, grew 9.4%. Available seat capacity expanded 5.6%, which resulted in a 2.7 percentage point increase in the average international PLF to 76.8%.
International air cargo demand, in FTKs, declined 4.5% compared to the same month last year, a reflection of lacklustre export-import markets. Offered freight capacity contracted 4.1%, which resulted in a marginal 0.2 percentage point fall in the average international FLF for the region’s carriers to 69.3% for the month.
