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Passenger
demand surges to 18-month high in Nov. says IATA
Geneva
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The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said last week
that passenger demand surged to an 18-month high in November.
Year-on-year international passenger demand rose 9.3% in November
- the fastest growth rate recorded in 18 months. This is higher
than the 7.7% growth recorded in October and the 7.5% growth recorded
over the first 11 months of 2007.
Average international passenger load factors were 75.4% in November,
1.1 percentage points higher than in November 2006.
Passenger demand results were strong across most regions.
Asia Pacific (8.8%), North America (7.6%) and Europe (7.6%) all
saw robust growth in November, with no sign yet of any weakening
in demand as a result of economic uncertainty.
Latin American carriers recorded a 20.1% increase reflecting a strong
recovery in traffic share following the impact of industry restructuring
during 2006.
Middle East carriers continued four years of double-digit growth
with an 18.3% increase.
African carriers’ growth slowed to 5.8% largely due to weaker
demand in Southern Africa and strong competition in long-haul markets.
Freight Traffic
Freight growth continues to be sluggish, reflecting strong competition
with sea shipping and uncertainty over the economic outlook for
2008:
International freight demand growth slowed to 3.5% in November,
down from 3.6% in October.
Over the first 11 months of 2007, freight demand grew 3.9%, well
below the 4.8% recorded over the same period in 2006.
“It’s a mixed picture,” said Giovanni Bisignani,
IATA’s Director General and CEO. “The global economy ended
2007 on a surprisingly strong note. The November surge in passenger
demand has been critical in combating high oil prices and helping
airlines end 2007 with an industry profit of US$5.6 billion - the
first since 2000. But, against a backdrop of robust world trade,
sluggish freight growth continued to be a disappointment.”
“We ring in 2008 with a warning bell. Passenger demand growth
is expected to fall to 5.0%. And the expected increase in freight
demand growth to 4.3% will only help us recover some of the ground
lost against sea shipping. High oil prices and the impact of the
credit crunch will see industry profitability slip to US$5.0 billion
in 2008. Since 2001 efficiency gains have been impressive: 64% improvement
in labour productivity, 25% reduction in sales and marketing unit
costs and a 16% decrease in non-fuel unit costs. The challenge for
2008 will be much more of the same - efficiency everywhere,”
said Bisignani.
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