AAPA airlines members transported over 88 million passengers in the first five months of 2013, proving that growth to and from Asia remains unabated.
KUALA LUMPUR – Preliminary traffic figures for the month of May released today by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) showed further growth in international passenger traffic and a marginal improvement in air cargo demand.
Asia Pacific airlines registered a 3.3% increase in the aggregate number of international passengers carried to 17.2 million in May. Measured in revenue passenger kilometres (RPK), international passenger traffic grew by 3.2%. Coupled with a 5.1% increase in available seat capacity, the average international passenger load factor declined however by 1.3 percentage points to 74.1% for the month.
International air cargo demand, in freight tonne kilometre (FTK) terms, was 0.5% above the levels of May last year. Combined with a 2.2% increase in offered freight capacity, the average international air cargo load factor was 1.1 percentage points lower, at 65.2%. Freight remains an important indicator of the economic evolution. The fact that cargo started to grow again in May –although at a very sluggish pace- shows an improvement in world economy’s perspectives as it underlines a bouncing back in exports.
Commenting on the results, Mr. Andrew Herdman, AAPA Director General said, “Overall, during the first five months of the year, Asia Pacific airlines carried a combined total of 88.8 million international passengers, an encouraging 5.2% increase compared to the same period last year. Growth in international passenger demand for both business and leisure travel markets was sustained, despite ongoing uncertainty about the global economic outlook.”
“Air cargo demand, on the other hand, has been depressed for the past couple of years. For the first five months of 2013, Asian airlines experienced a further 2.4% decline in air freight traffic volumes, reflecting weak trading conditions in key export markets.”
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.
