Asia Pacific airlines carried a total of 16.7 million international passengers in September, 4.0% more than the same month last year, underpinned by sustained demand in regional travel markets. In revenue passenger kilometre (RPK) terms, international passenger traffic increased by 3.3%.
KUALA LUMPUR – Preliminary traffic figures for the month of September released today by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) showed further moderate growth in international passenger traffic, and stable air cargo demand.
Asia Pacific airlines carried a total of 16.7 million international passengers in September, 4.0% more than the same month last year, underpinned by sustained demand in regional travel markets. In revenue passenger kilometre (RPK) terms, international passenger traffic increased by 3.3%, whilst available seat capacity expanded by a relatively slower 2.2%, resulting in a 0.8 percentage point increase in the average international passenger load factor to 77.8% for the month.
Commenting on the results, Mr. Andrew Herdman, AAPA Director General said, “For the first nine months of this year, the number of international passengers carried by Asia Pacific airlines increased by an impressive 7.5% compared to the same period last year. However, we are seeing some moderation of that growth trend, in the third quarter the year-on-year growth rate was a more modest 4.9%.”
“Overall, the operating environment for Asia Pacific carriers remains quite challenging. Margins have been under pressure from stubbornly high oil prices, and there is continuing uncertainty about the global economic outlook, despite the fact that Asian economies are still maintaining respectable growth rates.”
Table: Traffic update September 2012 and Jan-Sept 2012 AAPA
International Scheduled Services of Asia Pacific Airlines
|
International |
Sept. 12 |
Sept. 11 |
% Change |
Jan-Sep 2012 |
Jan-Sep 2011 |
% Change
|
|
Passengers (000) |
16,732 |
16,092 |
+ 4.0% |
154,932 |
144,175 |
+ 7.5% |
|
RPK (mn.) |
63,594 |
61,533 |
+ 3.3% |
579,911 |
546,753 |
+ 6.1% |
|
ASK (mn.) |
81,694 |
79,945 |
+ 2.2% |
741,669 |
710,709 |
+ 4.4%
|
|
Passenger Load Factor |
77.8% |
77.0% |
+ 0.8 pp |
78.2% |
76.9% |
+ 1.3 pp |
• Aggregated traffic data for 25 Asia Pacific based carriers
• Previous year data adjusted for comparison purposes
• RPK = revenue passenger kilometres
• ASK = available seat kilometres
• All figures, including estimates for missing data, are provisional
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
