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Mideast carriers lead global passenger demand growth

Middle East airlines once again were the top performers with 11 per cent surge in passenger demand year-on-year growth, the International Air Transport association (IATA) said in its monthly report on Thursday.

Gulf airlines showed robust growth in June. — AFP

The IATA released June passenger demand figures showing year-on-year growth of six per cent. The robust growth, measured in revenue passenger kilometres (RPK), is ahead of the 4.8 per cent demand growth reported over the first six months of 2013 compared to the same period in 2012. It is also ahead of the 5.6 per cent expansion in capacity for June over the previous year. This pushed the passenger load factor to 81.7 per cent.

While the strong growth trend was reflected in all regions it should be noted that Asia-Pacific airlines were responsible for half of the increase in RPKs from May to June. Due to the volatility of Asia-Pacific performance it is too early to say if this acceleration marks a trend for the rest of the year.

European airlines were another highlight of the month. They reported a second consecutive month of solid growth (4.8) reflecting an easing in recessionary conditions in the Eurozone and an improvement in business and consumer confidence. And emerging markets were once again the strongest performers, particularly Africa (10.8 per cent) and the Middle East (11.0 per cent).

“June was a positive month for passenger markets. The stability in the Eurozone, albeit tentative, is giving a boost to business and consumer confidence. And the load factor at 81.7 per cent shows that airlines are efficiently meeting increasing demand for travel. But there are some headwinds. Growth in the Brics economies, including China, is slowing. And oil prices remain high. The industry is still on track to make $4.00 per passenger this year for a global net profit of $12.7 billion. But there is little margin for error and even a small change in the second half of the year could shift the outlook significantly,” said Tony Tyler, IATA’s director-general and CEO.

International air travel expanded 5.9 per cent in June compared to a year ago. June capacity grew in line with this (5.7 per cent) resulting in a June international load factor of 81.4 per cent.European carriers recorded 4.7 per cent growth over the previous June.

Middle East carriers expanded strongly, up by 12.1 per cent compared to a year ago. This was slightly below the 13.4 per cent capacity expansion resulting in a load factor of 78.4 per cent. The demand for new routes to emerging markets in Africa and Asia has fuelled the growth of the Gulf hubs. Capacity increased by 3.4 per cent pushing load factors to 83.2 per cent.

— business@khaleejtimes.com