Demand for air travel stays high globally

MUMBAI: Passenger load factors have continued to remain high at close to 80 percent globally, said International Air Transport Association (IATA) airlines financial monitor for May-June 2013.
``Over the month, most regions experienced a rise in load factors, with Latin American airlines seeing the strongest rise—both from solid demand and tight capacity management,’’ it said.Passenger yields turned up during the last quarter of 2012, and have shown improvement in 2013, consistent with stronger traffic demand and higher load factors.
``The most recent data shows some softening in US yields, but that is likely reflecting the fall in jet fuel prices in Q2,’’ it said.
Global fares in the US $ terms continue to trend lower. But after adjusting for exchange rate effects and including fuel surcharges and ancillary revenues, IATA estimated that global passenger yields are broadly stable compared to a year ago. By contrast, airlines continued to face weak load factors in the cargo business. Airlines in Africa and North America were the only regions to see a slight improvement in load factors over the month.
Growth in seats continued to accelerate. ``In May, there was a small increase in aircraft deliveries as compared to April, and a significant rise in aircraft coming out of storage,’’ it said adding that growth in seats in May is running at about a ten percent annualized rate. ``While growth in demand has been strong, it has not kept pace with the rapid expansion in seats. Aircraft utilisation rates could come under downward pressure if this trend continues,’’ said IATA.