Global passenger traffic up by 8%

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced global passenger traffic results for January showing a strong increase in demand. Total revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs) rose 8.0% compared to January 2013, an improvement over the December 2013 growth of 6.8% and the full year 2013 growth of 5.2%. Asia- Pacific carriers’ traffic rose 8.0% compared to the year-ago period. Comparisons with December traffic suggest a continuation of the slower growth seen toward the end of 2013, likely in line with signs of a slowdown in the Chinese economy. Capacity climbed 7.5% year- over-year and load factor rose 0.4 percentage points to 78.2%.