Asia pacific air cargo slides 22% in first half

The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) said that its member airlines carried a total of 9.9 million international passengers in June, 16.5% fewer than in the same month last year. International passenger traffic measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs) declined by 16.0% and the average international passenger load factor for the month deteriorated by 5.7 percentage points, to 70.5%, despite a 9.2% reduction in available seat capacity.

Air cargo traffic volumes also remained depressed in June, with AAPA international freight tonne kilometers (FTKs) 17.4% below the levels seen in the same month last year. Coupled with a 15.4% reduction in cargo capacity, the average international cargo load factor for the month fell 1.6 percentage points to 66.8%.

Commenting on the results, Mr. Andrew Herdman, AAPA Director General said, verall, for the first half of 2009, AAPA international passenger numbers were down by 11.5% compared to the same period last year. The trading environment for Asia Pacific airlines remains extremely challenging, with further recent declines in passenger demand reflecting ongoing economic weakness as well as public anxieties over government initiatives related to the widening swine flu pandemic. As a result, we still haven seen a floor in terms of overall passenger demand.

Turning to the air cargo sector, Mr. Herdman said, he air cargo market also remains depressed as a result of the sharp slowdown in international trade. For the first half of 2009, AAPA international freight traffic registered a 22.3% decline in FTK terms. However, unlike the passenger business, there has been a slow but steady recovery in air cargo demand from the lows seen at the end of 2008, and we are hopeful that this trend will continue in the second half of the year.<Korea Shipping Gazette>