Airlines see growth in demand fall away
Airlines in Europe are experiencing "profitless growth" as they struggle to manage high fixed costs and taxes, the international airline association IATA today.
While airlines in China, Latin America and the Middle East are seeing strong growth, demand in Europe weakened in the second quarter of the year.
Global traffic results for September show passenger demand in September was 4.1% up on September 2011, but this was down on the 6% growth rate seen throughout the first half of the year.
Capacity in September increased by 3.1% over the same period of last year and the average load factor was 80%, slightly up on September 2011.
"A two-speed recovery is emerging into a multi-speed reality," said IATA director general Tony Tyler. "Carriers in China, Latin America and the Middle East are growing strongly. Europe’s airlines are experiencing profitless growth in a strategy to manage high fixed costs and taxes.
"The fact that airlines are making any money at all with weak markets and high fuel prices is a tribute to their strong business performance, as evidenced by maintaining global load factors close to 80% since the start of 2012.
"Even with that, airlines are expected to eke out a global net profit margin of only 0.6%. It’s a tough year."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Global tourism exceeds 1.5 billion travelers announces UN-Tourism
Qatar Airways offers reduced timetable to over 60 destinations
WTTC global tourism reached record economic impact of 11 trillion in 2025
Hands In, UATP join forces for airline multi-card payments
Suspension of all regional trains in Catalonia following two new rail accidents in Spain