Passenger Traffic Demand Strongest For Five Months

January 11, 2018

Global air travel demand rose 8.0 percent in November, the fastest growth rate in five months, IATA reported in its monthly update.

Regionally, Asia Pacific returned the biggest increase during the month, with an 11.3 percent rise in revenue passenger kms. Europe grew by a healthy 7.9 percent, with Latin America on 5.8 percent, Africa 5.6 percent and North America 5.4 percent all reporting good growth.

“The airline industry is in a good place entering 2018. November's strong demand gives the industry momentum,” IATA Director General Alexandre de Juniac said. “Passengers not only have more travel choices than ever, the cost of travel in real terms has never been cheaper.”

All regions kept capacity below demand growth, returning increased load factors for the month. Asia Pacific added 9.0 percent more capacity in available seat km terms, Europe 5.8 percent, Latin America 4.7 percent and North America 4.6 percent.

Overall load factor rose 1.2 percent.

But de Juniac warned of the challenges facing the airline industry. “Security threats continue. Infrastructure issues persist. Fees and charges are a growing part of the cost base. And in many cases airports and air traffic management struggle to keep pace with demand and technology advancements. These and other challenges can only be addressed in partnership with governments,” he said.

(Airwise)