International passenger markets

October international passenger demand rose 3.2 per cent compared to October 2018, unchanged from September’s year-over-year performance. Except for Latin America, all regions recorded increases, led by Middle East airlines for the first time since June 2018. Capacity climbed 1.6 per cent, and load factor rose1.3 percentage points to 81.0 per cent.

Asia-Pacific airlines’ October traffic increased 3.8 per cent compared to the year-ago period, a bit below the 4.0 per cent annual growth recorded in September and well down on 2018 growth largely owing to weaker business confidence in a number of key markets, the impact of the USChina trade war and the recent disruptions in Hong Kong. Capacity rose 2.7 per cent and load factor edged up 0.9 percentage point to 79.6 per cent. European carriers saw October demand climb 2.1 per cent year-to-year, down from 3.2 per cent growth in September. On a seasonally-adjusted basis, traffic is showing a moderate upward trend despite generally soft economic activity in some of the key markets. Capacity rose 1.3 per cent, and load factor climbed 0.7 percentage point to 85.7 per cent, which was the highest among regions.

North American carriers had the second-highest international demand in October, with traffic up 4.1 per cent compared to October a year ago and largely in-line with a 4.3 per cent annual increase in September. Growth is underpinned by a solid US economy and robust consumer spending. Capacity rose 2.0 per cent, and load factor grew by 1.6 percentage points to 82.1 per cent.

Latin American airlines experienced a 0.6 per cent demand drop in October compared to the same month last year. This was the weakest performance in nine years and compared to a 0.9 per cent positive growth in Septem