International air freight demand showed “a continuation of established trends” this year, further slowing down in October 2011, according to the latest traffic figures from the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA).
Air cargo traffic displayed further weakness, with Asia-Pacific carriers reporting a 7.7 percent decline in volume in October compared to the same month last year, the AAPA, a trade association for scheduled international airlines based in the Asia-Pacific region, said in a media statement released November 24.
The average international air cargo load factor for Asia-Pacific carriers also fell by 3.9 percentage points, to 66.8 percent, after a 2.4 percent reduction in offered freight capacity.
“Air freight markets remained weak, with international air cargo demand declining by 4.5 percent compared to the same period last year. Asian exports have been negatively impacted by the pattern of slower economic growth seen in Europe and North America, particularly in the second half of the year,” Andrew Herdman, AAPA director general, said.
In contrast, international air passenger travel exhibited further growth, AAPA said. Asia-Pacific-based airlines carried a total of 16.5 million international passengers in October, an increase of 5 percent compared to the same month last year. Overall international passenger traffic volume grew by 5.1 percent.
Available seat capacity grew by 8.8 percent due to additional aircraft deliveries, resulting in a 2.7 percentage point fall in the average international passenger load factor, to 76.4 percent.
