- 2012 began with a further rise in air travel, but a decline in air freight;
- Worldwide RPKs were 5.7% higher than a year earlier in January, a slight acceleration from December’s outturn;
- FTKs were 8% down on the same month a year ago, a sharp decline from December;
- However, the earlier Chinese New Year meant that holiday travel and factory closures distorted both RPKs (upwards) and FTKs (downwards);
- Even after correcting for the boost from the Chinese New Year the trend in air travel continues to rise, albeit at a slower pace than in the first half of 2011;
- Most of the decline of air freight in January appears due to the Chinese New Year distortion;
- The modest revival in business confidence and export orders at the turn of the year is consistent with a stabilization of air freight volumes;
- Load factors remain relatively high in passenger markets, helping support unit revenues at the start of the first quarter;
- Weaker load factors in freight markets increased the downward pressure on cargo profitability;
- There was a lot of regional variation in January;
- Domestic markets in China, India and Brazil grew strongly, along with international traffic carried by Asia Pacific airlines;
- Airlines in Europe and North America by contrast faced flat or weaker passenger and freight markets.
Source: IATA
