Airlines enjoy a strong May

GENEVA, 3 July 2015: Global passenger traffic in May showed strong demand growth according to the latest results released by the International Air Transport Association.
Total revenue passenger km (RPKs) rose 6.9%, which was an improvement on the April year-over-year increase of 5.7%. May capacity (available seat km or ASKs) increased by 6.5%, and load factor rose 0.3 percentage points to 79.3%.
“May results confirm that demand for connectivity remains robust, but there are possible storm clouds forming on the horizon. The financial crisis in Greece and recent weakness in regional trade activity in Asia-Pacific have the potential to dampen performance in these markets in the coming months,” said IATA’s director general and CEO, Tony Tyler.
May international passenger demand rose 7.1% compared to May 2014, with airlines in all regions except Africa recording growth. Total capacity climbed 6.7%, pushing load factor up 0.3 percentage points to 78.4%.
inside no 8 May traffic for Asia-Pacific airlines jumped 9.4%. Capacity rose 6.8% and load factor climbed 1.8 percentage points to 76.0%. The strong performance occurred despite weakness in regional trade activity during recent months.
European carriers saw demand increase by 5.9%. Growth has been robust despite Europe’s economic woes. However a further worsening of the Greek financial crisis could bring this positive trend under significant pressure. Capacity climbed 4.1% and load factor rose 1.4 percentage points to 81.6%, highest among the regions.
North American airlines’ traffic rose 2% compared to May a year ago, which was an improvement on the April rise of 0.7%. Capacity climbed 4.2% and the load factor fell 1.7 percentage points to 81.1%. Expectations for a better economic performance in Q2 should support demand for air travel, but the strengthening of the dollar is likely to continue. That will place downward pressure on international leisure travel to the US.
Middle East carriers’ May demand soared 14% over the same month in 2014. The result also could reflect some additional travel prior to the arrival of the month-long Ramadan period that began in June. Capacity rose 19.7% and load factor fell 3.7 percentage points to 74.6%.
Latin American airlines experienced a 7.4% rise in traffic compared to May 2014. Capacity climbed 6.8% and load factor rose 0.4 percentage points to 80.2%. Regional trade volumes have continued to improve, which has provided a boost to business related international travel despite weakness in Argentina and Brazil.
African airlines’ traffic fell 3.9% in May year-to-year, most likely owing to adverse economic developments in parts of the continent, including Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, which relies heavily on oil revenues. Capacity dropped faster than demand, slipping 4.9%, with the result that load factor improved 0.7 percentage points to 64.6%.inside-no-8.1

sourced:ttrweekly.com