Total revenue passenger kilometres rose 8.0% compared to November 2016, the fastest growth rate in five months and up from a 7.3% year-over-year rise in October. Capacity, meanwhile, (measured in available seat kilometres or ASKs) increased by 6.3%, and load factor rose 1.2 percentage points to 80.2%.
“The airline industry is in a good place entering 2018. November’s strong demand gives the industry momentum,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO. “We expect 2018 to be the fourth year in a row where the industry’s return on invested capital will exceed the cost of capital.” De Juniac added that challenges remain, however, particularly in the way of security and infrastructure constraints, alongside changing technologies.
Data for global air freight market also showed that demand, measured in FTKs, climbed 8.8% year-on-year in November 2017: an increase from the 5.8% annual growth recorded in October 2017. Despite indicators pointing to air cargo having passed a cyclical growth peak, demand remains strong.
Freight capacity, measured in available freight tonne kilometers, AFTKs, rose by 4.0% year-on-year in November. This was the sixteenth consecutive month in which demand growth surpassed capacity growth, positive for industry load factors, yields, and financial performance.
“November showed 8.8% year-on-year growth, keeping up the momentum that will make 2017 the strongest year for air cargo since 2010. And there are several indicators that 2018 will be a good year as well,” de Juniac commented.
Full passenger statistics are available here: https://goo.gl/UpBVuL
Full cargo statistics are available here: https://goo.gl/fZAW3J
