KUALA LUMPUR, 29 June 2023: According to May 2023 traffic figures released by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) on Wednesday, international passenger markets continue to grow strongly amidst the restoration of flights in the region.

The region’s carriers registered a 193.2% year-on-year increase in international passengers to 21.4 million in May. As a percentage of the corresponding month in 2019, demand averaged 68.5%. As measured in revenue passenger kilometres (RPK), demand climbed 162.5%, outpacing the 142.6% expansion in available seat capacity. As a result, the average international passenger load factor increased by 5.9 percentage points to 77.9% for the month.

On the other hand, subdued demand conditions, driven by weak business confidence levels, adversely impacted air cargo markets. In freight tonne kilometres (FTK) terms, air cargo demand fell 7.0% year-on-year in May. Offered capacity rose by 6.0%, leading to an 8.5 percentage point decline in the average international freight load factor to 60.1% for the month.

Commenting on the results, AAPA director general Subhas Menon said: “Strong travel appetite continued to spur recovery in passenger demand which grew nearly three times in May, with both premium and leisure segments on the rise. Air cargo demand remained soft, reflecting the prevailing weak global economic conditions and the slowdown in the manufacturing sector.”

He noted: “Trade tensions are likely to weigh down on cargo markets for some time to come, whereas air travel demand is expected to demonstrate resilience despite the headwinds in the external environment.”

“Overall, the outlook for the airlines remains positive, with the recent moderation in oil prices providing some relief to operating expenditure even though the industry will continue to face inflationary cost pressures. Against this background, the region’s airlines focus on disciplined cost management throughout the business while maintaining excellent safety and customer service standards,” he concluded.

(Source: AAPA)

SINGAPORE, 29 June 2023: With the northern hemisphere summer travel rush around the corner, travel concerns around delayed flights, surging airfares, and congestion in the airport are not putting travellers off air travel.

Preliminary findings from the 2023 SITA Passenger IT Insights released Wednesday revealed that 32% of passengers cited anxiety about cancellations when booking their next flight.

Nearly two out of 10 passengers surveyed cited concerns about congestion in the airport and pointed to high airfares. This was fueled by experience, where 56% of respondents said they had experienced delays or cancellations, and 48% had long airport queues.

Yet travellers intend to fly more than ever. On average, passengers expect to take 4.7 flights this year compared to 4.2 flights in 2019. This was driven mainly by frequent flyers. Those planning more than 10 flights in 2023 have increased from 6% of passengers in 2019 to 10% this year.

SITA CEO David Lavorel said: “It is encouraging for our industry that passengers want to travel and want to travel better in light of some of the challenges airports and airlines have experienced with congestion in the past year. We cannot dismiss that the overall air travel experience is essential to passengers’ decision-making. With passengers indicating a clear intention to travel more this year, the industry is well advised to address their concerns, deploying, for example, increased automation.”

Lavorel highlighted that earlier research from SITA indicated that airport and airline CIOs were taking this seriously by pushing digital transformation. The industry’s IT spending is projected to continue its steady year-on-year growth trend since 2020 to support digitalisation and automation. Last year, airline and airport IT spending rose to USD37 billion and USD6.8 billion, respectively.

SITA surveyed over 6,000 passengers across 27 countries in April of this year as part of the 2023 SITA Passenger IT Insights. The full report will be released on 5 September 2023.

About SITA

SITA is the air transport industry’s IT provider, delivering solutions for airlines, airports, aircraft and governments. Our technology powers more seamless, safe and sustainable air travel.

With around 2,500 customers, SITA’s solutions drive operational efficiencies at more than 1,000 airports while delivering the promise of connected aircraft to customers of 17,000 aircraft globally. SITA also provides technology solutions that help more than 70 governments strike the balance of secure borders and seamless travel.