Geneva - The International Air Transport Association (IATA)
announced global passenger traffic results for March 2018 showing that
demand (measured in revenue passenger kilometers, or RPKs) rose 9.5%,
compared to the same month a year ago, the fastest pace in 12 months.
Capacity (available seat kilometers, or ASKs) grew 6.4% and load factor
climbed 2.3 percentage points to 82.4%, which set a record for the
month, following on the record set in February. All regions except for
the Middle East posted record load factors.
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"Demand for air travel remains strong, supported by the comparatively
healthy economic backdrop and business confidence levels. But rising
cost inputs—particularly fuel prices—suggest that any demand boosts from
lower fares will moderate going into the second quarter," said
Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO.
|
March 2018
(% year-on-year)
|
World share¹
|
RPK
|
ASK
|
PLF
(%-pt)²
|
PLF
(level)³
|
|
Total Market |
100.0% |
9.5% |
6.4% |
2.3% |
82.4% |
| Africa |
2.2%
|
6.1%
|
2.7%
|
2.3%
|
71.6%
|
|
Asia Pacific
|
33.7%
|
12.0%
|
9.1%
|
2.1%
|
82.3%
|
|
Europe
|
26.5%
|
9.5%
|
6.1%
|
2.6%
|
83.9%
|
|
Latin America
|
5.2%
|
8.5%
|
6.8%
|
1.3%
|
81.3%
|
|
Middle East
|
9.5%
|
10.6%
|
4.2%
|
4.4%
|
76.6%
|
|
North America
|
23.0%
|
6.3%
|
4.1%
|
1.7%
|
85.3%
|
¹% of industry RPKs in 2017 ²Year-on-year change in load factor ³Load factor level
International Passenger Markets
March international passenger demand rose 10.6% compared to March 2017,
which was up from 7.4% year-over-year growth recorded in February. All
regions showed strong increases. Total capacity climbed 6.6%, and load
factor improved 2.9 percentage points to 81.5%.
- Asia-Pacific airlines’ traffic soared 11.6% in March, compared to the year-ago period. Passenger
traffic is continuing to trend upwards, supported by strong regional
economic growth and ongoing expansion in the number of airport-pair
options for travelers. Capacity increased 8.2%, and load factor rose 2.5
percentage points to 80.9%.
- European carriers saw March traffic climb 9.8% over March 2017, up from 6.9%
annual growth in February. Business confidence in the most-open
countries in the region has been hit by trade tensions in recent months,
but economic conditions remain broadly supportive. As with Asia-Pacific
region, demand is also being stimulated by increases in the number of
nonstop airport-pairs. March capacity rose 6.4% and load factor was up
2.6 percentage points to 84.6%, highest among regions.
- Middle East carriers’ traffic jumped 10.7% in March, much improved from the 4.1%
year-over-year increase recorded in February. This reflects healthy
growth in the market between the Middle East and Asia. Demand also shows
signs of stabilization on Middle East to North America routes,
following the disruption caused in the first half of 2017 by the
now-lifted ban on large portable electronic devices, as well as a wider
impact stemming from the proposed travel restrictions to the US.
Capacity increased 4.3%, and load factor jumped 4.4 percentage points to
76.7%.
- North American airlines posted a 9.5% traffic rise in March compared to the year-ago
period, well above the 5-year average growth rate of 3.6%. Capacity
climbed 4.9% and load factor was up 3.5 percentage points to 83.5%,
which was the second highest among the regions. The weakening US dollar
is having a positive effect on inbound traffic, while the comparatively
robust domestic economic backdrop is supporting outbound demand.
- Latin American airlines had an 11.8% increase in March traffic, which was the largest
increase among the regions for a third month in a row. March capacity
climbed 10.0% compared to a year ago, and load factor edged up 1.3
percentage points to 81.8%. Traffic continues to recover from the
disruptions caused by the harsh hurricane season in the third quarter of
2017, driven in part by economic recovery in Brazil.
- African airlines continued to enjoy very strong demand as well, with traffic up
11.2% compared to March 2017, which was more than twice the 5-year
average pace of 4.8%. Airlines here are seeing healthy growth on routes
to/from Europe and Asia, while the region’s two largest
economies—Nigeria and South Africa—continue to improve. Capacity climbed
6.7%, and load factor strengthened 2.9 percentage points to 71.0%.
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Domestic Passenger Markets
Domestic demand rose 7.8% in March, which was a slight deceleration from
8.2% growth recorded in February, driven primarily by developments in
the US market. Domestic capacity climbed 6.2%, and load factor lifted
1.3 percentage points to 84.0%.
|
March 2018
(% year-on-year)
|
World share¹
|
RPK
|
ASK
|
PLF
(%-pt)²
|
PLF
(level)³
|
|
Domestic |
36.2%
|
7.8% |
6.2%
|
1.3% |
84.0%
|
| Australia |
0.9%
|
3.6%
|
0.0%
|
2.7%
|
78.9%
|
|
Brazil
|
1.2%
|
2.3%
|
0.8%
|
1.2%
|
80.2%
|
|
China P.R
|
9.1%
|
15.0%
|
13.8%
|
0.9%
|
85.2%
|
|
India
|
1.4%
|
27.9%
|
18.1%
|
6.7%
|
87.8%
|
|
Japan
|
1.1%
|
0.9%
|
1.2%
|
-0.2%
|
74.7%
|
|
Russian Fed.
|
1.4%
|
5.9%
|
3.1%
|
2.1%
|
78.1%
|
|
US
|
14.5%
|
4.7%
|
3.7%
|
0.8%
|
86.5%
|
¹% of industry RPKs in 2017 ²Year-on-year change in load factor ³Load factor level *Note: the seven domestic passenger
markets for which broken-down data are available account for 30%
of global total RPKs and approximately 82% of total domestic RPKs
- US
domestic growth slowed to 4.7% in March, compared to 6.1% year-over-year
growth recorded in February. This had been anticipated and relates more
to traffic trends last year than to any specific weakening in the US
market.
- China’s domestic
traffic grew 15% in March compared to the year-ago period. This was the
strongest pace in five months and is being supported by growth in the
services sector.
The Bottom line
"The strong first quarter provides healthy momentum heading into the
peak travel period in the Northern Hemisphere. Benign economic
conditions are supporting—and being supported by—good demand for air
travel. It’s a mutually-beneficial effect that smart governments
recognize and encourage, by embracing affordable, quality aviation
infrastructure and reasonable commercial regulation. But we need to
deliver that message every day. The setback to modernizing air traffic
management in the US, and a proposal to stop construction of the new
airport in Mexico, are reminders of that fact," said de Juniac.
View full March passenger traffic analysis