Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Preliminary figures for released today by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines showed that international passenger numbers carried by AAPA members in January 2008 grew by +5.8% to 12.6 million. Traffic in revenue passenger kilometres (RPK) terms was up by 6.0% on capacity growth of 3.9%, resulting in a 1.5 percentage point improvement in passenger load factor, to 79.1%.
International freight traffic, expressed in freight tonne kilometres (FTKs), grew by 5.5% in January 2008. The average cargo load factor rose 2.8 percentage points to 64.4%.
Commenting on the results, Mr. Andrew Herdman, AAPA’s Director General said, “2008 started on a positive note with continued steady growth in both international passenger and air cargo traffic. There is some uncertainty about the potential impact of slower economic growth, but for now we remain cautiously optimistic about the traffic outlook for Asian carriers in 2008.”
©AIU Airline Industry Update 2007