A boost for cargo

RPKs for the month were nonetheless a sobering 11.3% below the highs of 2008.  There is still a long way to go before recovery to pre-recession levels as seen in year-to-date RPKs, which were 8.7% down. International passenger numbers were correspondingly 8% lower. The average PLF was 1.5 percentage points down at 74%, in spite of a 6.8% reduction in capacity.

A majority of AAPA carriers reported RPK growth in October. This was led by Thai International Airways, which saw a 10.5% increase in RPKs.  All Nippon Airways’ RPKs were up 8.1%, followed by Malaysia Airlines with a 6.2% rise. On the other hand, Garuda Indonesia (11.5%), Philippine Airlines (11.4%), Vietnam Airlines (7.5%) and Singapore Airlines (6%) experienced sharp passenger RPK declines.

On the back of continued capacity reductions, PLFs for many carriers increased, led by All Nippon Airways, which reported a 13.8 percentage point gain to 80.7%. Cathay Pacific/Dragonair (82.3%) and Singapore Airlines (81.1%) recorded the highest PLFs for the month under review.

FREIGHT

AAPA international cargo traffic posted a year-on-year increase for the first time in 2009, with freight tonne kilometres (FTKs) registering a 1.2% gain in October. This compared to a 5.5% decline in September.

As a result of a resumption in trade volumes and a 7.8% slash in capacity, freight load factors (FLF) grew 6.4 percentage points to 71.3%, a level not seen in at least five years.

Cumulative traffic figures for the first ten months of 2009 remained 16.1% below levels recorded in 2008 despite the continued improvement in year-on-year trends. FLFs averaged 65.2% with a 14.4% slash in capacity.

A majority of AAPA carriers experienced a positive swing in international cargo traffic growth in October. Garuda Indonesia and Vietnam Airlines chalked a 20.6% and 20.5% jump in FTKs respectively.  Conversely, five carriers reported decreases: Japan Airlines (18.5%), Philippine Airlines (8%), Singapore Airlines (4.2%), Cathay Pacific/Dragonair (1.9%) and All Nippon Airways (-0.7%).

All AAPA carriers reported an increase in FLFs in October. Philippine Airlines (7.9 percentage points), Thai Airways International (1.5 percentage points) and Garuda Indonesia (0.6 percentage points) saw load factors rebound following declines in September.

Five carriers managed to achieve FLFs in excess of 75%: EVA Air (82.5%), Asiana Airlines (79.4%), Cathay Pacific/Dragonair (76.7%), Malaysia Airlines (75.8%) and Korean Air (75.7%).

NOVEMBER

The AAPA provided further evidence of a modest recovery in air traffic demand in November. Preliminary figures show a total of 11.1 million international passengers were carried by member airlines in the month, 4.5% more than in the same month last year. RPKs grew 3.5%.

With available seat capacity cut by 3.1%, the average AAPA international PLF reached 76.3%, 4.9 percentage points up on the same month in 2008.

FTKs of AAPA members registered 12% growth compared to the depressed levels of a year ago. They marked a continuation of the slow, but steady recovery in 2009. The AAPA average international FLF was 8.2 percentage points higher at 71.1% for the month.