ASIA PACIFIC. Asia Pacific-based airlines flew a total of 16.0 million international passengers in September, up +5.4% compared to the same month last year, according to the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA).
AAPA said the “sustained growth” was underpinned by business and leisure demand on Asian routes.
Measured in revenue passenger kilometre terms (RPKs), international passenger traffic grew by +5.2%. With available seat capacity expanding by 6.8%, the average international passenger load factor fell 1.1 percentage points to 77.3%.
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AAPA Director General Andrew Herdman said: “Overall, for the first three quarters of the year, Asia Pacific airlines saw a +3.7% increase in the number of international passengers carried.
“Resilient Asian economies, with relatively strong domestic spending power, helped support leisure and business travel markets.
“Notwithstanding the current challenges, and uncertainty about the global outlook, optimism about future growth opportunities remains positive for Asia Pacific carriers. This sentiment is underpinning ambitious fleet expansion plans, as well as the establishment of a number of new carriers of varying business models, including international partnerships and joint ventures.”
ABOUT THE ASSOCIATION OF ASIA PACIFIC AIRLINES
The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) is the trade association for scheduled international airlines based in the Asia Pacific region.
Collectively, the region’s airlines carry 620 million passengers, representing one-quarter of global passenger traffic.
