International Air Traffic Gains Continue in January

From the International Air Transport Association:

Demand statistics for international scheduled air traffic showed continuing improvement in January (see red line in graph). Compared to the previous year, January passenger demand was up 6.4%. Against this improving demand, a 1.2% increase in passenger capacity in January pushed load factors to 75.9% (up from the 72.2% recorded for January 2009).

For international passenger demand:

* Asia Pacific carriers experienced a 6.5% increase in demand compared to the previous year.

* Carriers in North America and Europe saw demand increase by 2.1% and 3.1% respectively.

* Middle Eastern carriers grew throughout the recession. Growth accelerated to 23.6% in January.

* Latin American carriers saw demand increase by 11% in January on the back of a strong regional economy.

* African carriers recorded a 6.3% improvement in January, assisted by robust regional economic activity.

International cargo demand showed a 28.3% improvement with only a 3.7% increase in capacity (see green line in graph above). This pushed the cargo load factor to 49.6% which is a step-change from the 40.1% recorded in January 2009.