Asia-Pacific traffic falls 11% further in Q1

Down: In the first quarter of 2009 AAPA members’ international demand is down 10.9%.

Asia-Pacific airlines see international traffic fall almost 11% in Q1 2009; load factors down five percentage points

The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines currently consists of 17 members - Air New Zealand, All Nippon Airways, Asiana Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways, China Airlines, Dragonair, EVA Airways, Garuda Indonesia, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, Malaysia Airlines, Philippine Airlines, Qantas Airways, Royal Brunei Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways International and Vietnam Airlines. Each month the association reports provisional international traffic figures for all its members combined. Analysis of year-on-year data reveals that international demand is still down year-on-year during the first three months of 2009.

Source: AAPA

In the fourth quarter of 2008 international passenger numbers fell by 7.4% to 34.0 million. Average load factors fell almost four percentage points. The disruption caused by events in Thailand during November and December clearly had some impact on the figures as Bangkok is the region’s fourth busiest airport.

In the first quarter of 2009 international demand is down 10.9% to 32.6 million. Average load factor has fallen a worrying five percentage points from 77.4% during the first quarter of 2008 to just 72.1% a year later. As a result several airlines in the region have announced further capacity cuts for the summer season.

Source: AAPA

Traffic in the first three months of 2009 is currently lying somewhere between the figures for 2005 and 2006.