According to Association of Asia Pacific Airlines, a total of 23.6 million international passengers were carried by Asia Pacific airlines in June, 7.9% more than in the same month last year. Combined with the 6.5% expansion in available seat capacity, the average international passenger load factor rose by 0.7 percentage point to 78.5% for the month.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Preliminary traffic figures for the month of June released on July 28 by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) showed continued healthy growth in international air passenger demand. Air cargo demand also saw some modest growth for the first time since the start of the year.
A total of 23.6 million international passengers were carried by Asia Pacific airlines in June, 7.9% more than in the same month last year. In revenue passenger kilometre (RPK) terms, international passenger demand grew by 7.5%. Combined with the 6.5% expansion in available seat capacity, the average international passenger load factor rose by 0.7 percentage point to 78.5% for the month.
Air freight volumes for Asian airlines grew by 4.1% as measured in freight tonne kilometre (FTK) terms. Offered freight capacity increased by 3.6%, leading to a 0.3 percentage point increase in the average international freight load factor to 63.6% for the month.
Commenting on the results, Mr. Andrew Herdman, AAPA Director General said, “In the first six months of 2016, Asian airlines saw a healthy 6.2% increase in the number of international passengers carried to reach an aggregate total of 144 million. International air cargo demand remained subdued, registering a 2.5% decline for the first half of the year, although the uptick in the June figures is mildly encouraging.”
Looking ahead, Mr. Herdman concluded, “The demand outlook for air passenger markets remains positive, consumers are enjoying the benefits of affordable airfares, and an expanding range of services, which are helping to drive the sustained growth in travel demand. The outlook for air cargo remains a concern, reflecting generally weak trading
conditions in the global economy. Asian airlines are focused on meeting the growth in travel demand, investing in new aircraft and services, whilst at the same time keeping a tight rein on costs in order to deliver improved levels of profitability.”
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
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
