International passenger air traffic demand up 7.8 pct yr-on-yr in March - IATA |
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Tue, 01 May 2007 01:12
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SYDNEY (XFN-ASIA) - International passenger air traffic demand rose 7.8 pct year-on-year in March, marking the largest annual monthly increase in a year, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said.IATA said average international passenger load factor remained high at 76.4 pct in March but international freight traffic demand continued a 12-month run of sluggish growth with a 2.3 pct increase year-on-year.For the first three months of 2007 passenger demand was up 7.0 pct from the same period last yearwith average load factor of 74.9 pct, while freight demand increased 2.7 pct from the previous quarter.IATA chief executive Giovanni Bisignani said, in a statement received here, that a strong global economy drove travel demand for both business and leisure markets.Bisignani said airlines are meeting demand with newer, more fuel-efficient aircraft .He said near-record load factors should lead to an industry profit of 3.8 bln usd in 2007.But for freight, Bisignani said competition for other modes of transport, particularly sea, is holdinggrowth below IATA's forecast of 5.5 pct for this year.IATA said carriers in the Middle East continued their three-year trend of double-digit passenger demand growth in March with a year-on-year increase of 20.4 pct, driven by rapid route and capacity expansion and strong economic growth.Since 2001, Middle Eastern carriers have increased their overall share of global traffic to 8 pct from 5 pct.The organization said all other regions also saw year-on-year increases for passenger traffic in March.Passenger demand among European carriers grew 8.2 pct year-on-year in March, while demand in Asian carriers rose 6.9 pct and North American carriers reported 5.0 pct growth.bruce.hextall@xfn.comblh/mas
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International air passenger traffic up 6.8 pct yr-on-yr in Feb - IATA 