Middle East airlines still ruling skies

Dubai - Brussels airport attack weighs on Iata's April figures

Middle East airlines continued to soar in the latest passenger traffic data announced by the International Air Transport Association, or Iata, amid a slowdown in global demand growth.
The April figures showed that demand - measured in total revenue passenger kilometres, or RPKs - rose by 4.6 per cent - the slowest pace since January 2015. April capacity - available seat kilometers, or ASKs - increased by 4.9 per cent, and load factor slipped 0.3 percentage points to 79.1 per cent.
The disruptive impact of the Brussels Airport attack weighed on the April figures. The Iata estimates that, absent the impact of the attacks, demand growth would have been around five per cent.
"The disruptive impacts of the Brussels terror attacks will likely be short-lived. There are some longer-term clouds over the pace of demand growth. The stimulus from lower oil prices appears to be tapering off. And the global economic situation is subdued. Demand is still growing, but we may be shifting down a gear," Iata director-general and CEO Tony Tyler said.
April international passenger demand rose 4.8 per cent compared to April 2015, the slowest pace in two years. Airlines in all regions recorded growth, led by the Middle East region. Total capacity climbed 5.6 per cent, causing load factor to slip 0.6 percentage points to 77.8 per cent.
Asia-Pacific airlines' April traffic increased 6.4 per cent compared to the year-ago period. Slower economic growth in many of the region's economies has been at least partly offset by an increase in direct airport connections that has helped to stimulate demand. Capacity rose 6.8 per cent and load factor dipped 0.3 percentage points to 77.3 per cent.
European carriers saw demand rise just 1.8 per cent in April, which was well down on the 6.0 per cent growth recorded in March. This reflects the impact of the Brussels terror attacks, which closed the airport for nearly two weeks. Capacity climbed 2.4 per cent and load factor slipped 0.5 per cent percentage points to 80.2 per cent, which still was the highest among the regions.
Middle East carriers posted a 12.7 per cent traffic increase in April, the only region to see a double-digit percentage increase in demand. Capacity growth of 14.8 per cent outstripped this rise, however, which caused load factor to fall 1.4 percentage points to 75.6 per cent.
North American airlines' traffic rose 1.1 per cent compared to April a year ago, the smallest increase among regions. Capacity climbed 0.9 per cent, causing a 0.1 percentage point rise in load factor to 78.3 per cent.
Latin American airlines experienced a 3.1 per cent rise in April demand compared to the same month last year. Capacity increased by 2.9 per cent and load factor edged up 0.1 percentage points to 77.7 per cent.
African airlines' traffic climbed 9.9 per cent in April. Capacity rose 11.1 per cent, with the result that load factor slipped 0.7 percentage points to 66.3 per cent, lowest among regions. The continued turnaround of the carriers coincides with expansion of long-haul networks by the region's airlines.
Demand for domestic travel climbed 4.1 per cent in April compared to April 2015, while capacity increased 3.8 per cent, causing load factor to rise 0.3 percentage points to 81.4 per cent. All markets reported demand increases with the exception of Brazil, which showed a 12.1 per cent decline.
China's airlines recorded 9.5 per cent domestic traffic growth, a strong rebound from the 3.3 per cent increase recorded in March.
India's domestic traffic soared 21.8 per cent, marking the 20th month of double-digit traffic growth and the 13th consecutive month it has led the domestic markets. Growth is being propelled by the comparatively strong economic backdrop as well as by increases in service frequencies.
- alvin@khaleejtimes.com