Demand for air travel grows
Demand for air travel continues to grow on the back of a ‘brighter economic picture’ and ‘lower air fares’, according to the latest IATA figures.
June data from the International Air Transport Association showed demand rose by 7.8% year-on-year, on the back of 7.7% growth recorded in May, with all regions reporting growth.
Meanwhile, June capacity (available seat kilometers) increased by 6.5%, and load factor rose 1 percentage point to 81.9%.
For the first six months of 2017, the industry experienced a 12-year high in traffic growth (7.9%) and a record first half load factor of 80.7%.
"A brighter economic picture and lower airfares are keeping demand for travel strong," said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA director general and CEO.
"But as costs rise, this stimulus of lower fares is likely to fade and uncertainties such as Brexit need to be watched carefully. Nonetheless, we still expect 2017 to see above-trend growth."
European carriers saw traffic rise 8.8% in June compared to June 2016, which was up from a 7.5% year-over-year increase recorded in May.
Capacity climbed 6.5% and load factor rose 1.8% percentage points to 85.9%, highest among the regions.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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