Facts & Figures

No.:
Date: 29 September 2009

Traffic Volumes Improve, but Costs Rising - Profitability Remains Distant

Aug 09 vs. Aug 08 RPK Growth ASK Growth PLF FTK Growth AFTK Growth
Africa -4.9% 0.0% 74.0 -5.1% -1.3%
Asia/Pacific -1.6% -6.1% 78.6 -9.0% -10.7%
Europe -2.8% -3.7% 82.5 -14.5% -10.6%
Latin America -2.3% 1.0% 75.3 3.9% 9.5%
Middle East 10.8% 13.8% 77.8 3.0% 7.3%
North America -2.5% -4.6% 85.5 -12.1% -11.2%
Industry -1.1% -2.5% 80.9 -9.6% -8.2%
YTD 2009 vs. YTD 2008 RPK Growth ASK Growth PLF FTK Growth AFTK Growth
Africa -8.1% -4.1% 70.4 -20.0% -5.5%
Asia/Pacific -9.9% -7.5% 72.5 -18.8% -14.9%
Europe -6.3% -4.5% 75.9 -20.0% -9.5%
Latin America -2.9% 1.2% 71.8 -14.4% -3.9%
Middle East 8.4% 13.0% 73.0 -3.5% 4.9%
North America -7.2% -5.1% 79.0 -20.3% -10.7%
Industry -6.0% -3.6% 74.8 -18.0% -10.1%

Notes for Editors:

  • IATA (International Air Transport Association) represents some 230 airlines comprising 93% of scheduled international air traffic.
  • Explanation of measurement terms:
    • RPK: Revenue Passenger Kilometers measures actual passenger traffic
    • ASK: Available Seat Kilometers measures available passenger capacity
    • PLF: Passenger Load Factor is % of ASKs used.
    • FTK: Freight Tone Kilometers measures actual freight traffic
    • AFTK: Available Freight Tone Kilometers measures available total freight capacity 
    • FLF: Freight Load Factor is % of AFTKs used
  • IATA statistics cover international scheduled air traffic; domestic traffic is not included.
  • All figures are provisional and represent total reporting at time of publication plus estimates for missing data. Historic figures may be revised.
  • International passenger traffic market shares by region in terms of RPK are: Europe 34.9%, Asia-Pacific 29.4%, North America 18.2%, Middle East 11.3%, Latin America 4.4%, Africa 1.7% 
  • International freight traffic market shares by region in terms of FTK are: Asia-Pacific 44.2%, Europe 26.3%, North America 16.3%, Middle East 10.2%, Latin America 2.1%, Africa 0.9%
  • Aircraft utilization data sourced from Ascend

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