Global airfreight traffic was stable in September after months of decline, but regional carriers are still not out of the doldrums, reports the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA).
International air cargo demand for Asia-Pacific carriers in September was just 0.4 percent below last year’s level, “an improvement on the generally negative trend seen so far this year,” the Malaysia-headquartered trade association said.
“For air cargo markets, after experiencing a 3.9% year-on-year volume decline for the first nine months of the year, September was a relatively good month, only marginally below last year’s figure,” said Andrew Herdman, AAPA director general.
Herdman, however, does not see this as presaging a brighter outlook for the industry: “Overall, the operating environment for Asia Pacific carriers remains quite challenging. Margins have been under pressure from stubbornly high oil prices, and there is continuing uncertainty about the global economic outlook, despite the fact that Asian economies are still maintaining respectable growth rates.”
Photo: alantankenghoe
