Steady growth in 2011 for Asia Pacific Airlines

Preliminary figures for the full calendar year 2011 released by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) show steady growth in international air passenger demand. Conversely, international air freight markets weakened, following the strong rebound in the preceding year.

Overall, Asia Pacific airlines carried 190 million international passengers in 2011, 3.5% more than the previous year, with the region’s sustained economic growth supporting both business and leisure travel demand.

International passenger traffic, measured in revenue passenger kilometre (RPK) terms, grew by 3.7%. Capacity growth for the year was a relatively optimistic 6.3%, resulting in a 2.0 percentage point fall in the average international passenger load factor, to 76.4%. Asia Pacific international air cargo demand, expressed in freight tonne kilometre (FTK) terms, fell by 4.8% in 2011, a reflection of weakening world trade conditions. In spite of the decline in freight demand, offered freight capacity matched that of the previous year, leading to a 3.4 percentage point decline in the average international freight load factor, to 66.6%.

Andrew Herdman, AAPA Director General, said, “Despite a series of natural disasters including the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan, growth in international passenger traffic for Asian airlines held up relatively well in 2011. By contrast, the year saw air cargo demand weaken significantly compared to the restocking surge experienced in 2010, reflecting cautious management of supply chain inventories in the expectation of relatively weaker growth prospects for the major developed economies.”

Looking ahead, Herdman said, “Uncertainty over prospects for the global economy in 2012 has somewhat overshadowed the immediate outlook, and airlines worldwide are bracing themselves for another challenging year ahead. Overall, however, Asian airlines still remain optimistic about longer term growth prospects, as evidenced by ambitious fleet plans, ongoing service enhancements, and the launch of innovative new business ventures.”