Passenger and freight traffic continued its strong upward trend through May, according to statistics released by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA).
Passenger numbers for the month increased by 17.6 per cent compared to the same time last year, pushing revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) up by 14.6 per cent. Capacity growth of 3.3 per cent resulted in load factor increasing by 7.3 percentage points to 74.6 per cent.
Freight also continued its rebound, with demand up by 39 per cent, as measured in freight tonne kilometres. That outstripped a 22.2 per cent growth in capacity, resulting in an 8.7 point increase in load factor to 72.6 per cent.
AAPA director general Andrew Herdman said that the figures were a positive sign for the industry. “Both business confidence and consumer sentiment are signalling a generally positive outlook for the second half of the year. This should give a boost to the travel and tourism industry, which is a significant driver for many economies in the region. Hopefully that, in turn, will be reflected in improved financial results for the region’s airlines.”
