The Asia-Pacific air passenger volume rose 37.5% year on year and 4.18% month on month to 28.17 million in March, showed preliminary data released April 30 by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines, bringing overall air passenger traffic to 86.8% of levels seen before the pandemic in 2019.
"March saw another healthy expansion in both passenger and cargo markets, culminating in a strong first quarter performance for 2024," AAPA Director General Subhas Menon said.
Over January-March, the number of international passengers totaled 82.43 million, rising 47.1% from the same period a year earlier, underpinned by a surge in demand for both leisure and business travel, the AAPA said.
Demand, measured in revenue passenger kilometers, rose 38.6% year on year to 101.59 million in March, while seat capacity increased in equal measure. Passenger load factor was stable year on year at 82%, the AAPA said.
Reflecting the uptick in demand, the Platts-assessed FOB Singapore jet fuel/kerosene cargo flat price averaged $102.48/b in March, narrowing 82 cents/b from $103.30/b in February, S&P Global Commodity Insights data showed.
Air cargo demand, which is measured in freight ton kilometers, increased 15.3% on the year to 6.28 million in March, the AAPA data showed. However, a 16.2% year-on-year increase in offered freight capacity outpaced growth in demand, resulting in a 2.4 percentage point fall in the average international freight load factor to 62.7% the same month.
"The potential alleviation of interest rates and inflationary pressures are expected to stimulate spending, thereby driving further growth in air travel and cargo markets in the upcoming months," Menon said.
However, he cautioned that the airline operating environment continues to face challenges including extreme weather events, supply chain issues and international conflicts. These could increase cost pressures on carriers due to re-routings, flight diversions and disruptions.