Asia Pacific Airlines Traffic Results - January 2013

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Preliminary traffic figures for the month of January released today by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) showed steady demand for international passenger traffic, whilst demand for air cargo strengthened in advance of the Chinese New Year holiday period which fell in February this year compared to January last year.

Collectively, airlines based in the Asia Pacific region carried a total of 17.5 million international passengers in January, almost matching numbers achieved in the same month last year. International passenger traffic, measured in revenue passenger kilometre (RPK) terms, grew marginally, by 0.5%. Coupled with a 1.0% increase in available seat capacity, the average international passenger load factor declined by 0.3 percentage points to 78.0% for the month.

Asia Pacific international air cargo demand, measured in freight tonne kilometres (FTK), saw firm growth of 4.3% compared to the same month last year. The average Asia Pacific international air cargo load factor was 2.9 percentage points higher at 62.8% for the month, on a 0.4% contraction in available freight capacity.

Commenting on the results, Mr. Andrew Herdman, AAPA Director General said, “Comparisons with last year are somewhat distorted by the difference in timing of the Chinese New Year holidays, affecting both passenger and cargo traffic flows. We will have to wait for the February traffic data to get a better sense of the underlying trends for passenger and cargo demand.”

Looking ahead, Mr Herdman added, “In line with the projected growth in the global economy, the outlook for passenger travel remains positive, underpinned by sustained growth in the Asian markets and other developing economies. Hopefully we could also see some signs of recovery in the air cargo market this year, but even so, cargo rates are likely to remain depressed due to considerable excess capacity in the industry.”

Mr Herdman concluded, “Overall, airlines still face a very challenging operating environment, and are focused on disciplined capacity management whilst responding to new market development opportunities.”