The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released January traffic results showing that international passenger traffic for the month grew by 6.2% over the same month in 2005. International freight traffic, bolstered by renewed strength in the global economy, continued its recent recovery with 5.2% growth for January. Both of these are above the full-year growth rates recorded for 2005—7.6% for passenger traffic and 3.2% for freight.
“The industry is on track with 2006 growth expectations of 5-6% for both freight and passenger traffic," said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO.
“The story for January was freight which is starting to show a definite strengthening trend following the disappointing 3.2% growth of 2005. This is the first time in a year we have seen two consecutive months of freight traffic growth above 5% which points to a resurgent world economy,” said Bisignani. January’s 5.2% freight growth followed 5.5% growth in December 2005. Asia-Pacific led freight growth at 8.3%, boosted by strong growth in Chinese trade and a recovering Japanese economy.
For passenger traffic, the Middle East led all regions with an 18.3% jump in traffic. The region has posted double-digit growth in 29 of the past 31 months. Higher traffic levels have also translated into higher load factors. January’s passenger load factor was 74.6% up 1.1% from January 2005.
“We are filling the planes—and with high load factors—but there is a lot to do before the industry's balance sheet recovers. The industry faces several risks. The rising price of oil continues to kill our profitability. The airlines are managing capacity as carefully as they are managing costs. As the record aircraft orders of last year are delivered, matching capacity to demand will become even more critical. And Avian Flu is the wild card for 2006,” said Bisignani.
“Turning growth into profitability remains the challenge. Airlines are attacking costs on all fronts. Non-fuel unit costs dropped by 13% over the past four years. We expect the same efficiency from our monopoly partners—airports and air navigation service providers. Governments must grant us commercial freedoms and bring some common-sense to taxation. We can ill-afford the absurd taxes on aviation that have recently been imposed in France and proposed in Sweden.”
|
January 2006 over January 2005 |
RPK Growth |
ASK Growth |
PLF |
FTK Growth |
ATK Growth |
|
Africa |
7.4% |
10.0% |
70.8% |
9.0% |
6.8% |
|
Asia Pacific |
6.4% |
4.3% |
74.5% |
8.3% |
5.5% |
|
Europe |
5.2% |
3.6% |
73.5% |
-0.3% |
3.5% |
|
Latin America |
2.8% |
2.2% |
74.8% |
8.8% |
5.2% |
|
Middle East |
18.3% |
11.7% |
76.8% |
9.4% |
12.6% |
|
North America |
3.6% |
3.8% |
76.7% |
4.6% |
4.5% |
|
Industry |
6.2% |
4.6% |
74.6% |
5.3% |
5.2% |
|
Year to Date 2006 over 2005 |
RPK Growth |
ASK Growth |
PLF |
FTK Growth |
ATK Growth |
|
Africa |
7.4% |
10.0% |
70.8% |
9.0% |
6.8% |
|
Asia Pacific |
6.4% |
4.3% |
74.5% |
8.3% |
5.5% |
|
Europe |
5.2% |
3.6% |
73.5% |
-0.3% |
3.5% |
|
Latin America |
2.8% |
2.2% |
74.8% |
8.8% |
5.2% |
|
Middle East |
18.3% |
11.7% |
76.8% |
9.4% |
12.6% |
|
North America |
3.6% |
3.8% |
76.7% |
4.6% |
4.5% |
|
Industry |
6.2% |
4.6% |
74.6% |
5.3% |
5.2% |
Editor's Notes:
·IATA (International Air Transport Association) represents 265 airlines comprising 94% of international scheduled air traffic.
·The IATA Billing and Settlement Plan operates in 71 countries for 390 airline and non-airline participants covering 150 countries and territories.
·Explanation of measurements:
oRPK: Revenue Passenger Kilometres measures actual passenger traffic
oASK: Available Seat Kilometres measures available passenger capacity
oPLF: Passenger Load Factor is % of ASKs used. In comparison of 2005 to 2004, PLF indicates point differential between the periods compared.
oFTK: Freight Tonne Kilometres measures actual freight traffic
oATK: Available Tonne Kilometres measures available total capacity (combined passenger and cargo)
·IATA statistics cover international scheduled air traffic; domestic traffic is not included.
·All figures are provisional and represent total reporting at time of publication plus estimates for missing data.
·Due to uncertainties in the adoption of the new ICAO statistical definitions by reporting carriers, care should be taken when making year comparisons.
