ME airlines’ growth continues

22.6% Rise in demand at Indian airlines

dubai — Middle Eastern carriers posted a 5.4 per cent traffic increase in August as global passenger traffic climbed 6.4 per cent compared to the year-ago period, data from the International Air Transport Association (Iata) revealed on Monday.

In the Middle East, passenger volumes have trended upwards at an 8 per cent annualised rate since the start of the year. Capacity increased 6.3 per cent, with load factor slipping 0.7 percentage point to 80.7 per cent in August. However, August traffic increase marked a slowdown from 6.2 per cent in July, the Iata said.

“This was a significant deceleration in demand over the 5.4 per cent recorded the previous month,” the global body added.

In August, freight volumes handled by Middle Eastern carriers also posted a 2.2 per cent increase compared to the same period last year. Globally, August air traffic capacity available seat kilometres increased by 5.5 per cent, and load factor climbed 0.7 per cent percentage point to 85.3 per cent, which was the highest for any month since at least 1990.

“The industry experienced continued strong traffic growth in August, putting the cap on a very good peak travel season. The all-time record load factor reflects that airlines are maximising the efficiency of their assets at a time of rising fuel prices and other costs that are limiting the opportunities for low fare stimulation,” said Alexandre de Juniac, the Iata’s director-general and CEO.

The Iata said August international passenger demand rose 5.6 per cent compared to August 2017, in line with 5.5 per cent year-over-year growth achieved in July. All regions recorded increases, led by airlines in the Asia-Pacific region. Capacity climbed 5.1 per cent and load factor edged up 0.4 percentage points to 85.0 per cent.

Demand for domestic travel climbed 7.7 per cent in August compared to August 2017, up from the 7.2 per cent growth recorded in July. Capacity rose 6.2 per cent and load factor increased 1.2 percentage points to 85.7 per cent. All markets reported demand increases albeit with wide variation.

Indian carriers achieved their 48th consecutive month of double-digit traffic growth as demand rose 22.6 per cent in August while China airlines’ domestic traffic climbed 14.9 per cent, which was a four-month high.

Meanwhile, global air freight markets, measured in freight tonne kilometres, rose 2.3 per cent in August 2018, compared to the same period the year before. This pace of growth was unchanged from the previous month but was less than half the five-year average growth rate of 5.1 per cent, Iata said.