24 April 2009

AAPA sees traffic levels stabilising

KUALA LUMPUR Ã¢â¬' Preliminary figures released by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) showed that its member airlines carried a total of 11.2 million international passengers in March, 10.8 percent fewer than in the same month last year.

International passenger traffic, in RPK terms, fell by 12.9 percent year-on-year, outpacing an overall reduction in capacity of 5.6 percent.

As a result, the average passenger load factor fell by six percentage points to 71.7 percent.

Andrew Herdman, AAPA director general said, Ã¢â¬ÅâœFor the first three months of the year, AAPA international passenger numbers were 10.9 percent lower than in the same period last year, when traffic was still buoyant.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœDemand for first and business class seats has been hit hardest, as companies economise by tightening applicable travel policies.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœAirlines have implemented various measures, including capacity adjustments and additional cost controls, both internally and externally, working with key service providers.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœAt the same time, carriers are offering special promotional fares for both leisure and business travel, often working hand in hand with hotels, tour operators and tourism authorities.Ã¢â¬~

Overall, Mr Herdman added, Ã¢â¬ÅâœWhilst the crisis confronting the industry remains acute, traffic levels do seem to be stabilising, even though there is, as yet, no sign of any uptick in demand that might signal the beginnings of a recovery process.Ã¢â¬~