North American airlines saw their traffic return to pre-recession levels in September, with an 11.1% increase in passenger demand compared to the previous year. IATA September figures reveal that North American demand growth outstripped a 7.2% capacity expansion and lead to the region recording the world’s highest passenger load factor at 84.1%.
On a global basis, international passenger traffic rose by 10.5% year-on-year, significantly stronger than the 6.5% rise recorded for August.
IATA says the rebound in growth in passenger markets during September can be attributed to normal volatility in travel patterns accentuated by special factors such as the effect of the Ramadan. Passenger capacity expanded by 7.3%, below the 10.5% growth in volume, pushing the global load factor up to 80%, from 77.7% in September, 2009.
European carriers met an 8.4% increase in demand over the previous year with a 5.9% increase in capacity. The region’s carriers reported an average load factor of 82.6%. The region is now 2% above pre-recession levels.
Asia-Pacific carriers posted an 8.6% traffic increase over the previous September against a capacity increase of 6.9%. While the region led the recovery with an early surge in demand, growth in 2010 has been largely flat. Asia-Pacific traffic remains 2% below the pre-crisis peak of early 2008.
Middle Eastern carriers led the industry growth with a 23.9% increase compared to 2009. The earlier occurrence of Ramadan dampened demand in August, but boosted September’s traffic. This outstripped capacity growth of 15.3%. Nonetheless, load factors of 76.8% were below the industry’s 80% average.
Latin American carriers posted the industry’s weakest growth at 6.6% with a 0.5% increase in capacity. The weakness can be largely attributed to the ceasing of all operations by Mexicana.
African carriers reported a 16% growth in demand over the previous September against a 10.1% increase in capacity. The region is now 7% higher than the pre-recession levels of early 2008.
