Asia-Pac airline passenger traffic up 5.5% in Nov

PASSENGER traffic for Asia-Pacific carriers rose 5.5 per cent year-on-year last November, beating the 4.1 per cent growth globally, bolstered by stronger performance in major regional economies such as China and Japan.

According to the International Air Transport Association (Iata), load factor for the region edged 0.9 percentage point lower to 75.4 per cent as November's capacity growth (6.8 per cent) outstripped passenger traffic (measured in revenue passenger kilometres or RPK). Asia-Pacific carriers account for nearly a third of total passenger traffic.

At 4.1 per cent, global passenger traffic slowed from the 6.5 per cent increase registered in October, although Iata remains upbeat as improving consumer and business confidence points to a pick-up in growth in the coming months. Total capacity (measured in available seat kilometres) rose 6.1 per cent in November, prompting a 1.4 percentage point decline in load factor to 76.3 per cent.