THE TREND CONTINUES

IATA reports that global passenger traffic results for October showed a moderate acceleration of the robust demand trend of the last few months. Total revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) rose 6.6% compared to October 2012, an improvement over the September increase of 5.2%. A capacity increase of 6.5% meant that load factor was virtually flat at 78.9%.
Tony Tyler, IATA\’s director general and CEO, commented: \”October traffic results reinforce expectations for a strong fourth quarter traffic performance in line with rising business confidence and better economic performance in the major advanced economies.\”
October international passenger demand was up 6.9% compared to the year-ago period with airlines in all regions recording growth. Capacity rose 6.6% and load factor climbed 0.2 percentage points to 78.4%.
IATA\’s boss observes: \”In 2013, the airline industry will carry more than 3 billion passengers in a year for the first time. And on Jan. 1, 2014, we will celebrate a century of scheduled commercial aviation. These twin landmarks provide an opportunity to reflect on the enormous contribution aviation makes to all of our lives. That contribution comes not from the fees and taxes with which governments continue to burden aviation and air travellers, but rather from the ability to bring people together, connect people to markets and to create opportunities for greater understanding among cultures.\”
Go to http://www.iata.org for more.