ALTA Member Airlines Carry Over 160 Million Passengers in 2013

Miami, February 20, 2014 – The Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA) announced that its member airlines carried 160.9 million passengers in 2013, up 6.5% from the previous year.

Traffic (RPK) grew 7.2% and capacity (ASK) increased 5.4%, bringing up the load factor to 77.7%, 1.3 percentage points higher than in 2012.

Eduardo Iglesias, ALTA´s Executive Director, remarked, "ALTA member airlines transported almost 10 million more passengers in 2013 compared to 2012, reaching a total of nearly 161 million passengers, 90% of whom travelled domestically and/or intra-regionally within Latin America and the Caribbean. These figures validate the projections of the expansion of aviation in the region and support the urgent need for investment in infrastructure in the short and medium term allowing the industry to realize the potential for growth. "

The number of passengers carried during December 2013 increased 7.0% versus the same month of the previous year, reaching 14.6 million passengers. In that month, traffic (RPK) rose 7.5%, capacity (ASK) increased 3.9%, and the passenger load factor reached 79.1%, 2.6 percentage points higher than December 2012.

Freight ton kilometers increased 2.6% in 2013 despite an 8.0% decline in December.