Jan Passenger Traffic Rises, Cargo Down Says Iata

By Tengku Noor Shamsiah Tengku Abdullah SINGAPORE, Feb 29 (Bernama) -- The International Air Transport Association (IATA) yesterday said global passenger demand for January rose 5.7 per cent, but air freight declined by eight per cent compared with the same month in 2011. Passenger capacity in January was up 4.2 per cent, average load factor rose 1.1 percentage points to 76.6 per cent against the same month a year ago. Freight capacity contracted by 0.6 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) and freight load factor fell to 41 per cent, as deliveries of new widebody passenger aircraft offset measures to reduce freight capacity. IATA said the occurrence of Chinese New Year in January (rather than in February as in 2011) exaggerated the increase in passenger demand and the fall in air freight. Otherwise, the underlying trend was for stronger passenger growth while weakness in cargo markets continues to stabilise. IATA’s director general and chief executive officer, Tony Tyler, said: "It appears that freight markets have stabilised, albeit at weak levels, and this is having a positive impact on business-related travel. "However, airlines face two big risks: rising oil prices and Europe’s sovereign debt crisis, both of which are weighing down on the industry’s fortunes,” he said in a statement Wednesday. Asia-Pacific airlines saw a 6 per cent rise in traffic in January compared with January 2011, capacity climbed 6.4 per cent and load factor dipped marginally to 77.5 per cent. European carriers, meanwhile, registered a 5.3 per cent y-o-y rise in traffic. The persisting economic weakness in the region resulted in a drop against the 9.5 per cent growth in December 2011 despite the attractiveness of the weak Euro to tourist traffic and export activity. The average load factor strengthened to 75.7 per cent on a 2.7 per cent rise in capacity y-o-y, however, the load factor is among the lowest of the regions. -- BERNAMA