Traffic Continues to Slow - Falling Load Factors Hurt Profitability
Source: International Air Transport Association
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released international traffic data for April.
Year-on-year international passenger demand grew by 3% in April. Capacity growth of 5% saw load factors fall to 75.4%. This is a 1.5% drop from the 76.9% recorded during the same period last year and the third consecutive monthly year-on-year decline. International cargo demand growth remained sluggish at 3.7%.
April figures contain several distortions. The impact of an early Easter holiday in 2008 will have reduced comparative year-on-year traffic growth by about 2% in April. At the same time the 10% transatlantic capacity increase with the commencement of the US-EU Open Skies is estimated to have boosted global traffic by about 1%. Adjusting for these distortions and leap year, underlying passenger traffic demand increased 4% in April and the three previous months.
+ Facts & Figures
