ASIA PACIFIC. Asia Pacific airlines reported a solid +10.6% year-on-year increase in international passenger traffic in March, to 30.4 million.
The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) said broad-based expansion in the global economy continued to spur business and leisure travel demand.
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Demand, as measured in revenue passenger kilometres, increased +11.1%. This surpassed the +7.5% growth in available seat capacity by a considerable margin, AAPA’s preliminary figures showed. As a result, the average international passenger load factor gained 2.6 percentage points to reach 81.5% for the month.
In the first quarter of 2018, Asian airlines carried a combined total of 88 million international passengers – a +6.8% year-on-year increase.
“Growth across advanced and emerging market economies was maintained in the first quarter of the year, driven by positive business and consumer sentiment,” said AAPA Director General Andrew Herdman.
“World trade activity continued to expand, underpinned by increased investments and higher manufacturing output in the region, in response to increased new business orders. These positive factors continued to support growth in air passenger demand for Asian airlines.”
Herdman added that the market outlook for Asian carriers remains positive, given the continued availability of affordable air fares and increasing numbers of new destinations connecting travellers.
“Asian carriers overall saw a significant improvement in earnings performance last year, on the back of the strong growth in air passenger and air cargo demand,” he said. “However, the airline operating environment remains challenging, with competitive pressures including higher fuel prices and labour expenses. Asia Pacific airlines therefore remain focused in striving for cost efficiencies and productivity improvements whilst seeking avenues for further growth.”
