Asia Pacific airlines passenger load up 6% to 220 m in 2013

Monday, 3 February 2014 01:10 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Cargo load contracts by 0.6% but biz rebounds from steeper dips in 2012 and 2011

Preliminary figures from the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) for the full calendar year 2013 reaffirm the pattern of continued steady growth in international air passenger demand, in contrast to soft air cargo market conditions. Asia Pacific airlines carried a combined total of 220 million international passengers in 2013, 12 million more than in the previous year, representing 6.0% growth. Regional economic growth remained a positive driver of increases in business and leisure travel demand, coupled

with improving business and consumer confidence in the major developed markets. Reflecting comparatively strong demand on regional routes, international passenger traffic, measured in revenue passenger kilometre (RPK) terms, registered a more moderate 5.2% increase. Combined with a 4.8% expansion in available seat capacity, the average international passenger load factor reached 78.2%, 0.3 percentage points higher compared to the previous year. Cargo International air cargo demand for Asia Pacific carriers, expressed in freight ton kilometre (FTK) terms, recorded a marginal contraction of 0.6% in 2013, albeit an improvement from the steeper declines seen in 2012 and 2011. In spite of the fall in demand, the year saw a 1.1% expansion in cargo capacity, resulting in a 1.1 percentage point decline in the average international freight load factor to 65.4%. Commenting on the results, Andrew Herdman, AAPA Director General said: “Overall, Asia Pacific airlines recorded another year of solid growth in international passenger traffic in 2013. Regional economies slowed a little but maintained positive growth rates, while signs of recovery in Europe and a stronger pickup in the US economy led to broader improvements in business and consumer sentiment. Air cargo markets remained subdued in 2013, but picked up towards the end of the year in line with increasing demand for Asian exports in the major developed markets.” Herdman added: “Domestic air travel markets in the Asia Pacific region also enjoyed strong growth, with domestic passenger numbers up 10% to an estimated 740 million for the year, led by China. Overall, therefore, Asia Pacific airlines carried close to one billion passengers in 2013, a significant milestone.” Looking ahead, Herdman concluded: “Given expectations of a continuing modest improvement in global economic conditions, the outlook for Asian carriers remains broadly positive. Nevertheless, operating margins remain compressed as a result of weak cargo revenues and other competitive pricing pressures. Airlines are responding by investing in newer more fuel-efficient aircraft, other productivity improvements, and value added service enhancements.”

Air cargo industry must act now to avoid leadership crisis

A task force led by The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) with active participation from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the International Federation of Freight Forwarder Associations (FIATA) has published the results of a two-year research project. The research project focused on identifying educational needs for the next generation of managers for the worldwide air cargo industry. The task force concludes that managers not only must possess basic skills and detailed operational knowledge, but also the so called ‘higher-skills’, which include leadership, team-building as well as market and financial analysis techniques. While numerous training programs are available to teach the fundamental skills, the availability of air cargo-focused programs that teach these higher-level skills is limited. The researchers agreed that the industry as a whole must address this deficiency to ensure it maintains its long history of innovation, quality service provision and financial robust performance. The potential for the creation of a certificated and preferably accredited program may assist in this goal. As part of its effort, the task force compiled a comprehensive educational matrix identifying existing courses and areas of deficiency. The report stresses that without access to such programs, the air cargo industry faces the additional difficulty of attracting and equipping qualified talent to successfully lead the industry through future challenges. Another consequent risk without such an offering is the loss of rising managers to other sectors of the logistics industry or to other industries completely as workforce dynamics become more fluid. Both situations would put the air cargo industry at a competitive leadership disadvantage. As implications and task force recommendations are reviewed by the four organisations, a series of next steps will be established including the creation of focused courses as part of a comprehensive program addressing the needs of the next-generation of worldwide air cargo industry managers and leaders.

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