| 2011 Ends on a Positive Note - Capacity, Economy Loom as Issues in 2012 |
|
02/02/2012 02:37 (118 Day 14:32 minutes ago) | |||||
|
The FINANCIAL -- The International Air Transport Association reported that full year 2011 passenger demand rose 5.9% compared to 2010, in line with long-term growth trends, according to IATA. In contrast, cargo markets contracted by 0.7% for the year; but recorded positive demand growth in December of 0.2%. Growth in demand lagged capacity increases at 6.3% and 4.1% putting downward pressure on load factors.
The average passenger load factor for 2011 was 78.1%, down from 78.3% in 2010, while the freight load factor was just 45.9%, down from 48.1% in 2010.Passenger demand for December rose 5.4% compared to the same month in 2010. But the trend since mid-year has clearly slowed, as travel markets react with a lag to the declines in confidence that weakened cargo in the second half of 2011.
Comparisons with December 2010 are also distorted as severe winter weather in Europe and North America as well as strikes in Europe suppressed demand. December 2011 passenger demand was up just 0.7% over November while the load factor declined 0.2 percentage points. Freight capacity climbed 4.4% in December compared to December 2010.
The freight load factor was just 46.1% for the month. International air travel rose 6.9% last year, reflecting the strong growth of 6.2% recorded between February and July, compared to 1.2% between September and December. International capacity climbed 8.2%, pushing the passenger load factor down to 77.4%. For December, international traffic climbed 6.4% year over year, in part owing to depressed traffic levels in 2010 in North American and Europe, and rose 1.4% compared to November.
Passenger demand in domestic markets for the full year rose 4.2% compared to a 3.1% rise in capacity, leading to a load factor of 79.3%. December demand rose 3.7% from a year earlier, however, this represented a 0.5% decline from November. It is not clear yet whether this signals a new trend or is just an anomaly. Individual markets varied dramatically in their performance.
|
|
|
