International air travel grew again in May, while air freight picked up sharply after several months of sluggish growth, the top airline association said Monday. Passenger travel rose by 5.5 percent year-on-year, compared with 5.4 percent a month earlier, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said in a statement.
Demand for air freight rose by 5.0 percent in May, up sharply from 2.8 percent in April, led by airlines in the Middle East and a doubling of demand in the Asia-Pacific region, it added. IATA said it was the largest increase in air freight since September 2006. "The pick-up in freight, led by Asia, could be the first sign of strengthening demand," IATA Director General Giovanni Bisignani said.
"On the passenger side, growth has stabilised while strong competition is keeping load factors high even as carriers aggressively expand international routes to take advantage of some liberalising markets," he added. Air freight has been facing stiffer competition from land and sea transport, according to IATA.
Bisignani reiterated the association's forecast of higher profits for airlines this year. "The industry is expected to turn a profit of 5.1 billion dollars in 2007 - the first black number since 2000. High load factors are part of the efficiency gains driving the return to profitability," he added.
Average load factors for aircraft in May rose by 0.1 percentage points compared with the same period last year to reach 73.7 percent. "They are also improving our environmental performance. Combine this with the impressive investments in more fuel-efficient fleets... and you can see an industry that is on target for a projected 25 percent increase in fuel efficiency by 2020," he claimed. IATA represents some 250 airlines which account for 94 percent of scheduled international air traffic.
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