Global passenger demand showed a slight pickup in August 2019 year-on-year, but growth remains below the long-term trend, according to the latest data released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Air passenger traffic volume climbed 3.8% compared to the year-ago period and is above the 3.5% annual increase for July.
August capacity increased by 3.5%. Load factor climbed 0.3% percentage point to 85.7%, which is a new monthly record, as airlines continue to maximize asset use.
“While we saw a pick-up in passenger demand in August compared to July, growth remains below the long-term trend and well-down on the roughly 8.5% annual growth seen over the 2016 to Q1 2018 period. This reflects the impact of economic slowdowns in some key markets, uncertainty over Brexit and the trade war between the US and China,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s director general and CEO.
“Nonetheless, airlines are doing a great job of matching capacity to demand. With passenger load factors reaching a new high of 85.7% this is good for overall efficiency and passengers’ individual carbon footprint.”
August international passenger demand rose 3.3% compared to August 2018, improved from a 2.8% year-over-year growth achieved in July. Except for Latin America, all regions recorded increases, led by airlines in Africa. Capacity climbed 2.9%, and load factor edged up 0.3 percentage point to 85.6%.
Asia-Pacific airlines’ August international passenger traffic increased 3.5% compared to the year-ago period, which was an acceleration compared to a 2.6% rise in July.
However, this remains well below the long-term average growth rate of around 6.5%, reflecting slowing economic growth in India and Australia as well as the impact of trade disputes. Capacity rose 3.9% and load factor slid 0.4 percentage point to 82.8%.
Meanwhile, demand for domestic travel climbed 4.7% in August compared to August 2018, unchanged from the previous month. Capacity rose 4.6% and load factor increased 0.1 percentage point to 85.9%.
