- GENEVA – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released traffic results for August 2007. The highlights are:
Passenger Traffic - Year-on-year international passenger demand increased 8.6% for the month of August. This is the fastest growth rate for 16 months.
- The acceleration in growth in August partly reflects the comparison with lower levels in August 2006, when demand was affected by security scares on the North Atlantic. It also shows an underlying improvement in travel into the third quarter of 2007, as airlines in Asia-Pacific, in particular, benefit from traffic generated by robust economic growth in the region.
- The average passenger load factor was 80.3% in August, down slightly from July’s record levels but 0.9 percentage points higher than August 2006. This is the first time average load factors have been higher than 80% in a month other than July.
- Record high load factors improve environmental performance by reducing emissions per passenger.
- IATA recently revised its forecast for 2007 upward from an industry profit of US$5.1 billion to US$5.6 billion.
Freight Traffic - International air freight demand grew 6% in August, its strongest rate of growth for 16 months. Growth for the year-to-date is 3.9%.
- The recent improvement in freight demand growth indicates airlines may be winning back market share from other transport modes with competitive pricing and operations.
“While the credit crunch clearly shook both business and consumer confidence in August, demand for air travel remained solid with record high load factors for August. This, combined with strong revenues over the first half of the year, is behind our improved industry profitability forecast of US$5.6 billion for 2007. None-the-less, the industry’s financial situation remains fragile and the potential for weakening demand must continue to be met with improved efficiency across the value chain,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO.
“The trend of increasing load factors is a concrete example of how aviation’s business and environmental goals are aligned with efficiency as a common denominator. As governments continue to squabble over emissions trading in the aftermath of the triennial Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization, the industry is getting on with the business of meeting consumer demand with ever-improving environmental performance,” said Bisignani.
Editor's Notes:
- IATA (International Air Transport Association) represents over 240 airlines comprising 94% of international scheduled air traffic.
- Explanation of measurements:
- RPK: Revenue Passenger Kilometres measures actual passenger traffic
- ASK: Available Seat Kilometres measures available passenger capacity
- PLF: Passenger Load Factor is % of ASKs used. In comparison of 2007 to 2006, PLF indicates point differential between the periods compared.
- FTK: Freight Tonne Kilometres measures actual freight traffic
- ATK: Available Tonne Kilometres measures available total capacity (combined passenger and cargo)
- 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.
- International passenger traffic market shares by region in terms of RPK are: Europe 34.0%, Asia Pacific 31.8%, North America 18.8%, Middle East 8.0%, Latin America 3.7%, Africa 3.1%
- International freight traffic market shares by region in terms of FTK are: Asia Pacific 46.1%, Europe 25.9%, North America 17.2%, Middle East 7.4%, Latin America 2.2%, Africa 1.1%