ASIA-PACIFIC cargo and passage traffic have exceeded their pre-crisis levels, according to the Association of Asia-Pacific Airlines (AAPA).
Cargo traffic handled by AAPA member airlines grew 27.7% to 5.73 million metric tons (mmt) in July compared to 4.49 mmt for the same month last year due to strong trade flows in the region.
Member airlines also flew 17.2 million international passengers in July 2010, 20% higher compared to the same period last year. The increase may be attributed to strong demand in busy regional routes.
For the first seven months of the year, AAPA carriers saw a 15.6% hike in the number of passengers carried, reflecting growing consumer confidence across the region.
“Commercial activity has also picked up strongly, leading to a rebound in premium passenger traffic on both regional and long-haul routes,” AAPA director general Andrew Herdman said.
“At the same time, international air cargo demand has recorded a 33.7% growth in traffic for the seven months of the year.”
Herdman added, “The very high growth rates recorded in recent months, as a result of the surprisingly sharp V-shaped recovery, will obviously taper off as the economy stabilizes and reverts to a more normal patters of growth.”
Airline operators in the Asia-Pacific region are generally well placed to benefit from the improving business environment, and are making some measured additions to capacity and selective expansion of their route networks.
However, the airlines are still focused on careful management of capacity, tight cost controls, and ongoing efforts to achieve further productivity improvements as the industry strives to restore profitability after two years of heavy losses.
Earlier, the Philippine Civil Aeronautics Board reported that passage volume in the country increased 10.5% to 8.39 million in the first six months of the year from the same period last year’s 7.59 million on the back of strong economic conditions.
Cargo volume has yet to be released.
