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Mideast carriers lead strong aviation start into 2016: IATA report

Xinhua, March 8, 2016 Adjust font size:

Airliners from the Middle East posted a 10.9 percent increase in January on year in passenger demand, the highest surge among all regions, International Air Transport Association (IATA) said Tuesday.

The IATA said global passenger traffic results for January rose 7.1 percent compared to same period in previous year in relation to revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs.

While the Middle East led the pack, the region also witnessed a dip in the load factor by 1.4 percentage points to 77.8 percent.

On March 3, Dubai-based Emirates Airline completed the world's longest commercial flight ever when an Emirates Airbus A380 "Superjumbo" took off in Dubai and landed in Auckland after over 17 hours flying.

The oil-rich region was followed by African airliners and Asian-Pacific carriers which posted a rise in RPKs of 12.1 percent and 10.3 percent, respectively.

Tony Tyler, IATA's Director General and CEO, said underlying conditions point to another strong year for passenger traffic, "with the latest decline in oil prices likely providing additional stimulus for air travel growth."

The price of oil rose to a two and a half moth high on Monday, reaching 40 U.S. dollars (U.S. crude) per barrel (159 liter).

Globally, January capacity rose 5.6 percent, with the result that load factor rose 1.1 percentage points to 78.8 percent, the highest load factor ever recorded for the first month of the year, said IATA.

Tyler said January maintained the strong traffic growth trend seen in 2015, showing the resilience of demand for connectivity despite recent turmoil in equity markets.

He added that "the record load factor is a result of strong demand for our product and airlines making the most productive use of their assets.

Underlying conditions point to another strong year for passenger traffic, with the latest decline in oil prices likely providing additional stimulus for air travel growth." Endit