MIDDLE Eastern carriers remained strong in the latest international air traffic statistics from the International Air Transport Association (Iata) for June 2009.
The region’s airlines reported a 12.9 per cent increase in demand, with a 15.2 per cent capacity increase. According to Iata, the Middle East airlines are “growing market share with particularly strong traffic growth on routes to Europe and Asia”.
Worldwide Iata scheduled passenger traffic fell by 7.2 per cent in June compared with the same month the previous year.
The drop was a slight improvement on the 9.3 per cent fall in May.
The capacity adjustment of – 4.3 per cent did not keep pace with the fall in demand, leaving average fares and yields under significant pressure. As a result, June revenue on international markets fell by 25-30 per cent.
“International passenger demand remains very weak,” said Giovanni Bisignani, Iata’s director general and CEO.
“While it appears that there is stabilisation in some markets, this comes at a steep price. Capacity cuts have not kept pace with demand falls. Even with lower fares, the load factor remains 2.3 per cent below last year’s levels. Airlines are seeing international revenue falls of up to 30 per cent at the start of the busy June-August period when airlines traditionally make their money. The outlook remains bleak,” said Bisignani.
African carriers struggled in June with a 5.9 per cent fall in traffic on international routes. “Since many African economies are growing despite the global recession, this drop in demand represents market share loss,” he said.