PRELIMINARY traffic figures released yesterday by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) showed that growth in international passenger demand had maintained momentum in October.
Asia-Pacific airlines reported a strong 8.3 per cent increase in the number of passengers carried to a combined total of 18.5 million passengers.
In terms of revenue passenger kilometre, international passenger traffic grew 8.6 per cent, reflecting good demand on major longhaul routes. Combined with a 7.5 per cent expansion in available seat capacity, the average international passenger load factor climbed 0.7 percentage points to 77.2 per cent.
AAPA director general, Andrew Herdman, said: “Overall, a total of 182 million international passengers flew on Asia-Pacific airlines during the first 10 months of the year, a solid 5.9 per cent increase compared to the same period last year. The continued recovery of the global economy boosted traffic for the region’s carriers, driving further growth in both business and leisure travel.
“The steady improvement in global business conditions, and the tentative recovery in consumer sentiment seen in the major developed economies, give us added confidence in future growth prospects, even though competitive pressures are still weighing heavily on both yields and margins for Asian carriers.”
