MANAMA: International passenger traffic rose 6.1% in 2014 compared to 2013. Capacity rose 6.4% and load factor slipped 0.1 percentage points to 79.2%, according to IATA.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced global passenger traffic results for the full year of 2014 showing demand, revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs, rose 5.9% compared to the full year of 2013.
This 2014 performance was above the 10-year average growth rate of 5.6% and the 5.2% annual growth experienced in 2013 compared to 2012.
Capacity rose 5.6% last year; with the result that load factor climbed 0.2 percentage points to 79.7%. All regions saw demand grow in 2014. More than half of the growth in passenger travel occurred on airlines in emerging markets including Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. In recent months domestic market growth played a large role in driving growth. This is owed mainly to a pick-up in Chinese domestic travel which expanded by some 11% in 2014 over the previous year.
“Demand for the passenger business did well in 2014. With a 5.9% expansion of demand, the industry out-performed the 10-year average growth rate. Carriers in the Middle East posted double-digit growth while results in Africa were barely above previous-year levels. Overall a record 3.3 billion passengers boarded aircraft last year—some 170 million more than in 2013. While it is clear that people will continue to travel in growing numbers, there have been signs in recent months that softening business confidence is translating into a leveling off of international travel demand,” Tony Tyler, IATA’s Director General and CEO, said.
Asia Pacific carriers recorded an increase of 5.8% compared to 2013, which was the largest increase among the three biggest regions. However, traffic has been broadly flat over the past four months or so amid signs of a slowdown in regional production activity, although trade volumes have remained strong. Capacity rose 7.0%, pushing down load factor 1.1 percentage points to 76.9%.
European carriers’ international traffic climbed 5.7% in 2014. Capacity rose 5.2% and load factor rose 0.6 percentage points 81.6%. Robust travel on low fare airlines as well as airlines registered in Turkey offset economic weakness and risks in the region.
North American airlines saw demand rise 3.1% in 2014 over 2013. Among developed economies, the US is the standout performer. Capacity rose 4.6%, dropping load factor 1.1 percentage points to 81.7%. This was the highest among all regions.