A total of 26.2 million international passengers were carried by Asia Pacific airlines in July, 10.2% more than in the same month last year.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Preliminary traffic figures for the month of July released on August 29 by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) showed positive growth in both international air passenger demand and air cargo markets.
A total of 26.2 million international passengers were carried by Asia Pacific airlines in July, 10.2% more than in the same month last year. In revenue passenger kilometre (RPK) terms, international passenger demand grew by 8.4%, attesting to the strength of both regional and long haul travel demand. Combined with the 7.3% expansion in available seat capacity, the average international passenger load factor rose by 0.8 percentage point to reach 81.8% for the month.
Air cargo volumes for Asian airlines in July grew by 3.9% as measured in freight tonne kilometre (FTK) terms. Offered freight capacity increased by 3.4%, leading to a 0.4 percentage point increase in the average international freight load factor to 62.1% for the month.
Commenting on the results, Mr. Andrew Herdman, AAPA Director General said, “The first seven months of the year saw Asian airlines post a solid 6.8% increase in the number of international passengers carried to an aggregate total of 170.3 million. International air cargo demand has been relatively weak, with year-to-date demand registering a 1.5% decline compared to the same period a year ago, but we have seen a modest pickup in air cargo volumes during the past couple of months.”
Looking ahead, Mr. Herdman concluded, “The overall demand outlook for air passenger markets remains positive, as air travellers in the region continue to enjoy the benefits of affordable fares, although demand for some European destinations has been affected by security concerns. Given highly competitive market conditions, Asia Pacific airlines are focusing on carefully managing costs, whilst continuing to deliver high levels of customer service.”
TRAFFIC UPDATE – PRELIMINARY
International Scheduled Services of Asia Pacific Airlines
Effective September 2014, the dataset comprises aggregated traffic data from the following 31 Asia Pacific based carriers: 5J, 6E, 9W, AI, AK, BI, BR, CA, CI, CX, CZ, GA, JL, JQ, KA, KC, KE, MH, MU, NH, NZ, OZ, PG, PR, SG, SQ, TG, TR, QF, VA and VN.
• Previous year data adjusted for comparison purposes
• RPK = revenue passenger kilometres
• ASK = available seat kilometres
• FTK = freight tonne kilometres
• FATK = available freight tonne kilometres
• All figures, including estimates for missing data, are provisional
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