Air passenger growth strong in April: IATA
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The International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) global passenger traffic results for April show robust year-on-year demand growth.
Total revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) rose 5.9%. April capacity (available seat kilometres or ASKs) increased by 6.1%, and load factor slipped 0.1 percentage points to 79.4%.
Domestic demand grew by 7.2%, outpacing international demand, which grew by 5.2% compared to April 2014.
“Demand for connectivity remains strong. That’s positive news. But the performance of the industry is multi-tiered. Middle East and Asia-Pacific based carriers led with growth well above the 5.9% average, while carriers in Europe and the Americas were below it. And African airlines reported a contraction compared to the previous year,” said Tony Tyler, IATA’s DG and CEO.
| Year on Year Comparison | Apr 2015 vs Apr 2014 | YTD 2015 vs. YTD 2014 |
| RPK | ASK | PLF | RPK | ASK | PLF | |
| Africa | -2.5% | -4.3% | 68.4% | -1.3% | -1.6% | 67.2% |
| Asia/Pacific | 10.8% | 7.6% | 78.4% | 9.5% | 7.6% | 78.4% |
| Europe | 3.5% | 5.0% | 79.6% | 4.6% | 4.0% | 78.4% |
| Latin America | 5.3% | 5.2% | 78.6% | 6.0% | 5.5% | 79.6% |
| Middle East | 7.7% | 12.6% | 77.5% | 10.9% | 13.4% | 78.1% |
| North America | 3.0% | 4.2% | 82.7% | 3.0% | 3.4% | 81.8% |
| Total Market | 5.9% | 6.1% | 79.4% | 6.3% | 5.8% | 79.0% |
April international passenger demand rose 5.2% compared to April 2014. Airlines in all regions except Africa recorded growth led by the Asia-Pacific and Middle East. Capacity climbed 5.9% and load factor dipped 0.5 percentage points to 78.6%.
European carriers experienced a 3.7% demand increase in April versus April 2014. Capacity rose 4.7% and load factor declined 0.8 percentage points to 80.7%, still the highest among the regions for the month. Although signs are that a positive response to the European Central Bank stimulus has faltered owing to firming in the Euro and oil prices, economic stimulus is helping ease downward pressure on demand.
Domestic travel demand rose 7.2% in April compared to April 2014, with the strongest growth occurring in India and China. Total domestic capacity also was up 6.4%, and load factor was 80.8%, up 0.6 percentage points.
| Year-on-Year Comparison | April 2015 vs April 2014 | YTD 2015 vs. YTD 2014 |
| RPK | ASK | PLF | RPK | ASK | PLF | |
| Australia | 0.1% | -1.8% | 76.8% | 0.8% | -0.8% | 76.6% |
| Brazil | 2.3% | 0.9% | 80.8% | 4.8% | 3.2% | 80.9% |
| China P.R. | 15.5% | 13.2% | 81.5% | 12.1% | 11.7% | 81.5% |
| India | 20.7% | 8.7% | 82.0% | 20.2% | 4.8% | 83.0% |
| Japan | 6.4% | 2.6% | 63.3% | 5.0% | 3.4% | 65.2% |
| Russian Federation | 1.7% | 13.2% | 67.2% | 3.5% | 6.1% | 67.9% |
| US | 4.3% | 4.4% | 85.2% | 3.3% | 3.6% | 83.6% |
| Domestic | 7.2% | 6.4% | 80.8% | 6.1% | 5.4% | 80.3% |
“As we head into the traditionally strong summer travel season in the Northern Hemisphere, the outlook for aviation is a mixed picture. Lower oil prices are helping to keep the cost of air travel down. The stronger US dollar, however, may dampen demand in some markets. And it remains to be seen how long robust travel demand can stand up in the face of a trio of bad economic news: unexpectedly poor first quarter performance in the US, continuing weakness in the Eurozone and slowing regional trade in Asia Pacific,” said Tyler.
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