About 16.9 million international passengers were carried by Asia Pacific airlines in February 2023, representing a 645.3% jump from the 2.3 million that flew in the same month last year, as per Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) latest figures. AAPA data shows that passenger markets continued to expand at a robust pace, buoyed by the strong appetite for travel, in tandem with the Lunar New Year holiday season.
The report also reflects that the demand grew by 481.7% year-on-year, outpacing the 205.5% expansion in available seat capacity. As a result, the average international passenger load factor rose by 38.6 percentage points to 81.3% for the month, achieving levels recorded in pre-pandemic 2019.
Commenting on the results, Mr. Subhas Menon, AAPA Director General said: “The first two months of the year saw continued strong recovery in international travel markets, with the number of passengers carried by the region’s carriers increasing more than seven-fold to 34 million, bringing overall demand to 54.3% of the corresponding period in pre-pandemic 2019.”
The report showed that broader economic climate, weakness in consumer and business sentiment, continued to affect air cargo markets in February as international air cargo demand, as measured in freight tonne kilometres (FTK), fell by 9.8% for the month.
“On the other hand, air cargo markets continued to weaken amid challenging circumstances. Inflationary pressures, and worsening economic conditions, weighed down on spending affecting demand for air shipments. The first two months of the year saw a 15.5% fall in air cargo demand for Asian carriers,” added Menon.
Looking ahead, Mr. Menon said, “The demand outlook for international travel is positive, but expected to moderate in the coming months compared with the larger traffic volumes in the later months of last year as more borders reopened over the course of 2022. Nevertheless, strong travel demand will continue to underpin recovery in passenger traffic, as pre-pandemic flight frequencies and city links are gradually restored in 2023.”
The report further reflected on how the Asian airlines are proactively taking steps to reduce the strain on operations where possible like recruitment of staff, returning stored aircraft to service and continued investments in digitalising.
The APAC airlines are working closely with industry stakeholders with the aim of enhancing passenger experience, while ensuring safe and secure travel in the recovery period.