India’s domestic travel fell by 0.7% in June even as capacity expanded by 4.5%. The load factors stood at 74.2%. This is the second month of weak year-on-year growth, and the trend in growth continues to be flat since the start of 2012.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced global traffic results for June showing a continued slowing of growth in demand for air transport. This is in line with weakness in business and consumer confidence.
The growth trend since early 2012 has seen a slowdown. This is illustrated by isolating the February trend through June that shows 2% annualized growth. That is a major slowdown from the 8% annualized growth rate experienced from mid-2011 through to January 2012.
“The uncertainty that we see in the global economic situation is being reflected in air transport’s performance. Although there are some pockets of solid performance, it is difficult to detect a strong trend—positive or negative—at the global level. The net effect is a demand limbo as consumers and businesses hedge their spending while awaiting clarity on the European economic front,” said Tony Tyler, IATA’s Director General and Chief Executive Officer.
Asia-Pacific carriers reported a 6% growth in demand, which was more than double the 2.9% expansion in capacity for June, when compared to the same month in 2011.
The load factor for the region’s carriers stood at 79.5%. Month-to-month, the demand in the region was basically flat at -0.1%.
All markets, except India, showed an expansion in demand in June compared to the previous year. The slowdown in major Asian economies – China and India - has put a dampener on air freight demand for the airlines in Asia-Pacific.