Tony Tyler
KUALA LUMPUR: Demand for air travel recorded another solid month of growth in July this year, said the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
In a statement yesterday, IATA said overall revenue passenger kilometres were up five per cent compared to July 2012 and all regions were up year-on-year, with emerging markets recording the strongest increases.
IATA said capacity rose 5.5 per cent on the previous July, ahead of demand, and industry load factor dropped 0.4 percentage point to 82.4 per cent.
It said although July’s performance was not as strong as June’s (6.1 per cent), this likely reflected both a market correction in line with prevailing economic conditions as well as the impact of reduced travel in markets observing the Ramadan period.
IATA said July international passenger traffic climbed 5.1 compared to the year-ago period and capacity rose slightly faster at 5.4 per cent, causing load factor to slip 0.2 percentage point to 82.7 per cent. Performance across all regions was positive, IATA said.
Director General/Chief Executive Officer, Tony Tyler, said passenger demand continued to be strong.
He said the emergence of the Eurozone from an 18-month recession provided the biggest boost to traffic over recent months.
In contrast, he said, the deceleration of the Chinese economy has been a dampener on air travel, with weakness showing up throughout emerging Asian markets.
Tyler said the price of oil, a huge cost item for airlines, was tracking political tensions in the Middle East.
“Along with the global cost impact of this, at the regional level there is the potential for disruption for one of aviation’s strongest and most consistent growth markets,” he said. — Bernama