January Demand Shows Further Improvement - Industry to Remain in the Red For 2010 -

Geneva - The International Air Transport Association (IATA) anounced last week that January 2010 demand for international scheduled air traffic showed continuing improvement. Compared to the previous year, January passenger demand was up 6.4%. Against this improving demand, a 1.2% increase in passenger capacity in January pushed load factors to 75.9% (up from the 72.2% recorded for January 2009). 

International cargo demand showed a 28.3% improvement with only a 3.7% increase in capacity. This pushed the cargo load factor to 49.6% which is a significant change from the 40.1% recorded in January 2009.

The large increases in year-on-year comparisons reflect a steady improvement from the precipitous fall in demand that characterized the early part of 2009 rather than a dramatic improvement in January. Compared to December 2009, and adjusting for seasonal variations, passenger demand grew by 0.5% while air freight volumes increased by 3.0%.

“Airlines have lost 2-3 years of growth. Demand is moving in the right direction. The 3.0% increase in freight volumes from December to January is particularly encouraging. We can start to see the future with some cautious optimism, but better volumes do not necessarily mean better profits. Passenger yields are still 15% below peak. And we expect 2010 losses to be US$5.6 billion,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

There are large geographical differences in the improvements. The strongest upturns have been seen in markets where economic recovery from the recession has been strongest—Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

International Passenger Demand
Compared to the low point in the cycle (February 2009) international passenger traffic is up 8.6%. The market has not yet recovered from the losses of 2008 and early 2009. Demand must improve by a further 2% to return to the peak levels of early 2008.

• Asia-Pacific carriers experienced a 6.5% increase in demand compared to the previous year. Of the improvement in demand seen since the early 2009 low point, 31% has been realized by carriers in the region which is leading the global economic recovery.
• Carriers in North America and Europe saw demand increase by 2.1% and 3.1%, respectively. Although both regions have gained 6% from the early 2009 lows, they remain 4-6% below the early 2008 peak levels. This reflects the jobless recovery from the recession in which consumers are focused on paying down debt.
• Middle Eastern carriers grew throughout the recession. Growth accelerated to 23.6% in January.
• Latin American carriers saw demand increase by 11% in January on the back of a strong regional economy.
• African carriers recorded a 6.3% improvement in January, assisted by robust regional economic activity.

International Cargo Demand
Compared to the low point in the cycle (December 2008 - January 2009), international freight traffic has regained about 28%. This is still 3-4% below the early 2008 peak level.

• The sharp improvement in air freight, which accelerated to 3.0% in January compared to December, is being driven by businesses re-stocking depleted inventories. This part of the inventory cycle will not last much longer. Durable air freight growth will require consumers to start buying again and businesses to return to making investments. While these improvements are beginning to be seen in Asia, Europe and North America lag behind.
• With an 11.6% improvement in January compared to the previous year, carriers in Europe stand out for their sluggish demand recovery. Freight volumes are only 7% above the December 2008 low and 15% below the cycle peak.

“We are starting to see some encouraging signs in demand, albeit with large differences among the regions. Unfortunately, the constraints of the archaic bilateral system limit airlines from being able to respond as normal businesses to market opportunities. Political borders limit opportunities for consolidation. And we still require governments to negotiate open markets,” said Bisignani.

Under the auspices of IATA’s Agenda for Freedom initiative, in November 2009, seven governments (Chile, Malaysia, Panama, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States) and the European Commissions signed a multilateral statement of policy principles focused on liberalization of the air transport industry. Premised on maintaining a level playing field, the policy principles support liberalization of ownership, market access and pricing. Its latest impact can be seen in the recent signing of an open skies bilateral agreement between Panama and Colombia.

“With each open skies bilateral, we take a step in the right direction. Recovering from the years of lost growth as a result of this crisis is a long and hard journey. Governments should not make it any more difficult by maintaining policies that restrict airlines ability to do business,” said Bisignani.

Source: IATA

EUROCONTROL and IATA en-route for a collaborative approach to ATM Safety and Navigation

08/03/2010

EUROCONTROL and IATA are combining forces in the field of ATM Safety and Navigation. Close partnership between stakeholders is essential in these two areas and will contribute to reaching Single European Sky objectives of safety, flight efficiency and reduced CO2 emissions. 

In the field of safety, the partnership will concentrate on Voluntary ATM Incident Reporting. The core part of the work will relate to data collection, analysis and identification of main concerns and experts will ensure follow up with the proper solutions. The two Organisations will make better use of safety data available on the European level, sharing databases, data related to the aircraft equipment as well as networks and projects. “The partnership between IATA and EUROCONTROL is part of a proactive approach to safety. It will allow the two Organisations to react quicker, better and together on a number of safety issues,” said the chairman of the EUROCONTROL Safety Team, Erik Merckx. Navigation is the second area covered by the partnership. Performance Based Navigation (PBN) is key to making better use of en-route and terminal airspace. 

 

The joint efforts of IATA and EUROCONTROL will speed up the PBN programme and ensure that the right priorities are set. Through the precision obtained, more direct routes and continuous descent approach (CDA) will be designed, increasing as a result flight efficiency, reduction of fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and safety of flight operations. “The Single European Sky creates a major opportunity for the ATM industry to work much closer together than today, resulting in better targeting, synergies and major savings.

 

 I am convinced that partnerships between various stakeholders are a must, at national as well as international levels,” said David McMillan, Director General of EUROCONTROL. “Safety is our industry’s number one priority. Improving environmental performance is a shared responsibility for all industry players. And efficiency is a matter of survival for airlines that, as an industry, have lost US$5 billion a year for a decade. Effective air traffic management plays a role in all three of these critical areas. Our enhanced partnership with Eurocontrol will help us to take advantage of the opportunities created by an effective Single European Sky to make flying safer, greener and more efficient,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO. 

 

Source: Air Transport News