ASIA PACIFIC. Asia Pacific airlines carried a total of 25.2 million international passengers in June – a +4.4% year-on-year increase.
The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) said growth was driven by the upturn in global economic activity supporting business and leisure air travel demand.
Reflecting continued strength in long haul travel markets, AAPA said demand in revenue passenger kilometre (RPK) terms grew by +8.1%. Combined with the +7.1% increase in available seat capacity, the average international passenger load factor edged 0.7 percentage points higher to 79.4% for the month.
During the first half of 2017, Asia Pacific airlines carried a combined total of 155 million international passengers, an increase of +5.5% compared to the same period last year.
“Air passenger traffic volumes have been growing steadily, underpinned by elevated business and consumer confidence levels,” said AAPA Director General Andrew Herdman.
“International air passenger and cargo markets are well positioned to achieve further growth in the second half of the year, given signs of ongoing positive momentum in the global economy.
“Expanding airline networks and the widespread availability of competitive airfares will also help to drive further growth in travel demand. Meanwhile, Asian airlines remain vigilant on containing costs, with the aim of sustaining a positive earnings performance in a highly competitive market place.”
