Saturday 06 / July / 2024
Muscat: Middle Eastern airlines saw a 9.7 percent year-on-year increase in demand while capacity increased 9 percent year-on-year and the load factor increased 0.5ppt to 80.7 percent compared to May 2023, according to a new report.
“Asian routes to the Middle East are particularly strong, now standing some 32 percent higher than in 2019,” the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said in its data for May 2024 global passenger demand.
“Another notable development is the Europe-Middle East route, which saw an April-May RPK increase for two years in a row, reversing the previous historic pattern of a decline between these months,” the report further stated. “In the coming months, it will become clearer to what extent these trends could be related to the Russia-Ukraine war,” the IATA report added.
Asia-Pacific airlines continue to lead the way, with a 27 percent year-on-year increase in demand while capacity increased 26 percent year-on-year and the load factor rose to 81.6 percent (+0.6ppt compared to May 2023). This performance maintains Asian carriers as the largest contributor to industry-wide growth in May, accounting for 42 percent of the year-on-year increase, the IATA report reveals.
European carriers saw an 11.7 percent year-on-year increase in demand while capacity increased 11.3 percent year-on-year, and the load factor was 84.7 percent (up 0.3ppt compared to May 2023).
“Strong demand for travel continues with airlines posting a 10.7 percent year-on-year increase in travel for May. Airlines filled 83.4 percent of their seats, a record for the month,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.
“With May ticket sales for early peak-season travel up nearly 6 percent, the growth trend shows no signs of abating. Airlines are doing everything they can to ensure smooth journeys for all travellers over the peak northern summer period.”
IATA’s Director General further said, “But our expectations of air navigation service providers (ANSPs) are already being tested. With 5.2 million minutes of air traffic control delays racked up in Europe even before the peak season begins, it is clear that Europe’s ANSPs have unresolved challenges. And the 32,000 flight delays over the Memorial Day weekend in May show that challenges persist in the US too.”
“Airlines are accountable to their customers; ANSPs must be as well. ANSP performance matters to their airline customers and to millions of travelers. We all need them to do their job efficiently,” he further added.
The IATA report said that total demand in May 2024, measured in revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs), was up 10.7 percent compared to May 2023. Total capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASK), was up 8.5 percent year- on-year. The May load factor was 83.4 percent (+1.7ppt compared to May 2023), a record high for May.
International demand rose 14.6 percent compared to May 2023. Capacity was up 14.1 percent year-on- year and the load factor improved to 82.8 percent (+0.3ppt in May 2023).
Domestic demand rose 4.7 percent compared to May 2023; capacity was up 0.1 percent year-on-year and the load factor was 84.5 percent (+3.8ppt compared to May 2023).
