Geneva - The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released international traffic data for April showing a 3.1% decline in passenger demand and a 21.7% fall in cargo demand compared to April 2008. The average passenger load factor stood at 74.4%.

While April’s 3.1% passenger demand drop was a clear improvement compared to the -11.1% fall in March, this improvement should be viewed with caution. Easter holidays, which fell in the month of April, positively skews the data by at least 2%. Traffic gains were at the expense of yields in most regions. And preliminary data for May suggests a renewed double digit decline, at least for European airlines.

Freight demand appears to have found a solid floor with a fifth consecutive month at more than 20% below previous year levels.

“We are not out of the woods yet,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO. “The demand improvements that we saw in April are welcome. But the 3.1% decline in passenger demand still outstripped the 2.5% cutback in capacity. There is no improvement in revenues as yields continue to fall. And freight remains at shockingly low levels. The worst may be over. However, we have not yet seen any signs that recovery is imminent,” said Bisignani.

International Passenger Demand

  • International passenger demand declined by 3.1% in April.
  • Load factors improved to 74.4% in April (compared to 72.1% in March); however this is slightly distorted by high volume holiday travel. Forward schedules show a return to previous-year capacity levels by the end of the third quarter. Without a corresponding sharp improvement in demand, load factors are likely to decline rather than improve.
  • Asia Pacific carriers continued to see the most significant demand deterioration. Their 8.6% fall outstripped capacity adjustments of -7.4%.
  • An acceleration of fare discounting saw demand increase on North Atlantic routes. North American carriers, who experienced a 13.4% drop in demand in March, saw this reduced to -4.2% in April. The capacity adjustment of -4.0% much more closely matched the fall in demand than in March when there was a 7.7 gap of points.
  • For European carriers, the 11.6% decline in passenger demand reported for March improved to -2.7% in April, closely matching the capacity adjustment of -2.6%.
  • Middle Eastern carriers saw demand growth in April of 11.2%, against a capacity expansion of 12.3%.
  • Latin American carriers saw demand expand by 7.5%, outstripping a capacity increase of 6.0%. Nonetheless, Latin American carriers recorded the weakest load factor, 71.2%.
  • Africa’s carriers experienced a 7.1% fall in demand, outpacing the capacity cut of 5.0%.

International Cargo Demand

  • Air freight continues at very weak levels. International cargo was down 21.7% in April compared to previous year levels. This is the fifth consecutive month in the -20% range. This sideways progression may indicate that we have seen the worst of the economic downturn. Business confidence is improving, but inventories remain high. Until inventories adjust to more normal levels, air freight volumes will likely continue to bounce along the bottom.
  • Carriers in all regions showed double digit declines. Middle Eastern carriers were the strongest performers at -11.1%. European, North American, Asia-Pacific and African carriers had similar performance of -23.3%, -22.4%, -22.3% and –18.8% respectively. Latin American carriers were the worst performers at -24.2%.

“With each day of the recession, the challenges for the air transport industry are mounting. Flexibility has never been more important. But there is not enough of it. Airlines remain constrained by old rules that restrict basic commercial freedoms such as access to markets and capital. Much of the cost base remains out of our control - from volatile fuel prices to monopoly infrastructure charges. And many governments simply don’t understand the need for urgent change. We need a change in mindset. To manage through this ongoing crisis, every player in the air transport value chain must be prepared to drive change,” said Bisignani.

The 65th IATA Annual General Meeting and World Air Transport Summit will take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 7-9 June. On the agenda of the 600 industry leaders expected to attend will be the industry’s top priorities, including safety, environment, infrastructure charges, taxation and liberalization. Working journalists are invited to attend this by-invitation-only event.

For more information, please contact:
Corporate Communications
Tel: +41 22 770 2967
Email: corpcomms@iata.org


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 Kilometres measures actual passenger traffic
    • ASK: Available Seat Kilometres measures available passenger capacity
    • PLF: Passenger Load Factor is % of ASKs used. In comparison of 2009 to 2008, 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 33.8%, Asia Pacific 31.1%, North America 17.5%, Middle East 11.1%, Latin America 4.8%, Africa 1.8%
  • International freight traffic market shares by region in terms of FTK are: Asia Pacific 43.8%, Europe 26.8%, North America 16.3%, Middle East 10.1%, Latin America 2.1%, Africa 0.9%