Middle Eastern carriers were the only region worldwide to see passenger demand grow in July, according to the latest figures from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
The region’s airlines recorded 13.2% growth in July; slightly better than the 12.9% recorded in June, but the industry body warned of false optimism saying that the growth was fueled by increased capacity and greater market share in traffic between Europe and Asia, as opposed to an upswing in the industry.
“Demand may look better, but the bottom line has not improved,” said IATA director general and CEO Giovanni Bisignani.
“We have seen little change to the unprecedented fall in yields and revenues. The months ahead are marked by many uncertainties, including the price of oil. The road to recovery will be both slow and volatile. In the meantime, the industry remains in intensive care.”
International scheduled traffic results for July showed passenger demand continued to decline 2.9% compared to the same month last year, while the international passenger load factors stood at 80.3%.
Asia-Pacific carriers saw the largest decline of any region at -7.6% in July. At the same time, compared to the -14.5% recorded in June, the relative improvement was also the biggest among all regions.
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Economic growth returned during the second quarter in a number of Asian economies, to a much larger extent than elsewhere. This was likely the driver behind July’s better performance, said IATA, while the impact on passenger confidence from Influenza A(H1N1) was also somewhat diminished as media coverage of the disease decreased.
As passengers continued to trade down to cheaper seats in the face of recession pressures, European and North American carriers saw declines of 3.1% and 3.2% respectively.
“Airlines have also been leaving less expensive fares open for sale much longer (closer to departures dates) in the face of excess capacity and intensifying competition. The July improvement in travel demand was more the result of deep discounting than stronger incomes or greater economic confidence,” the industry body said.
Latin American carriers saw demand decline by 3.5%. This was the only region to see a greater decline in July than the seven month average which was -3.0%, while African carriers saw a fall of 5.5% compared to the seven month average of -8.6%.
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