Global traffic in October showed a continued softening of airline
passenger traffic growth and “significant” weakening of freight demand,
IATA said, citing Hurricane Sandy as a contributor.
Passenger demand for the month rose 2.8% year-over-year, but fell 0.5% from the previous month. Passenger capacity rose 2.3% and load factor lifted 0.4 points to 78.8% compared to the year-ago period. Freight demand fell 3.5% from the prior year and dropped 2.2% from September’s levels.
“Slowing world trade and weak business confidence are affecting demand for air travel, while Hurricane Sandy delivered a concentrated punch to US domestic and North Atlantic travel,” IATA DG and CEO Tony Tyler said. “And its impact was felt globally. Airlines are managing the softer passenger demand environment by limiting capacity growth to keep load factors high. But the rapid decline in freight traffic is outrunning the industry’s ability to respond.”
IATA said airlines canceled nearly 17,000 flights at the five most affected US northeast airports due to Hurricane Sandy and grounded 8%-9% of global capacity at the peak of the storm on Oct. 29, equal to about 1.6 billion ASKs.
“[Sandy] dealt the airline industry a $0.5 billion blow at a time when it can least afford it,” Tyler said.
Two-thirds of all passengers impacted by the hurricane were US domestic passengers, IATA estimated. US traffic in October slipped 0.7%, with a 1.1% drop in capacity.
Domestic traffic in China grew 7.5% year-over-year, while Brazil recorded the strongest domestic growth with a 9.8% lift. Domestic traffic fell 0.5% in Japan and 12.4% in India as the Japanese market has not yet recovered from the impact of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, IATA said.
Passenger demand for the month rose 2.8% year-over-year, but fell 0.5% from the previous month. Passenger capacity rose 2.3% and load factor lifted 0.4 points to 78.8% compared to the year-ago period. Freight demand fell 3.5% from the prior year and dropped 2.2% from September’s levels.
“Slowing world trade and weak business confidence are affecting demand for air travel, while Hurricane Sandy delivered a concentrated punch to US domestic and North Atlantic travel,” IATA DG and CEO Tony Tyler said. “And its impact was felt globally. Airlines are managing the softer passenger demand environment by limiting capacity growth to keep load factors high. But the rapid decline in freight traffic is outrunning the industry’s ability to respond.”
IATA said airlines canceled nearly 17,000 flights at the five most affected US northeast airports due to Hurricane Sandy and grounded 8%-9% of global capacity at the peak of the storm on Oct. 29, equal to about 1.6 billion ASKs.
“[Sandy] dealt the airline industry a $0.5 billion blow at a time when it can least afford it,” Tyler said.
Two-thirds of all passengers impacted by the hurricane were US domestic passengers, IATA estimated. US traffic in October slipped 0.7%, with a 1.1% drop in capacity.
Domestic traffic in China grew 7.5% year-over-year, while Brazil recorded the strongest domestic growth with a 9.8% lift. Domestic traffic fell 0.5% in Japan and 12.4% in India as the Japanese market has not yet recovered from the impact of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, IATA said.
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