The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) has found a “significant” rise in leisure travel demand in July, helped by a relaxation of visa policies, and despite ongoing supply chain challenges.
According to the association, Chinese carriers are seeing “solid growth” on their international routes, which has pushed July’s Asia-Pacific interational traffic results closer to pre-pandemic levels.
AAPA director general Subhas Menon says: “Despite ongoing supply chain disruptions, the outlook for travel markets remains positive, as Asia Pacific airlines continue to benefit from resilient business and leisure demand. In particular, China-based airlines are experiencing solid growth in passenger demand as traffic in China recovers, driving overall expansion.”
For the month, Asia-Pacific airlines carried 31.9 million passengers, up 22.6% year on year, and about 95.5% that of pre-pandemic 2019.
Capacity grew 21%, marginally outpacing a 20.5% increase in traffic, which led to a 0.6 percentage point dip in passenger load factor to 82.6%.
On the cargo front, demand grew about 12% year on year, while freight capacity rose 11%. The air cargo segment benefitted from strong e-commerce demand as well as the ongoing maritime shipping disruptions.
Adds Menon: “In response to passenger demand in a dynamic marketplace, Asian airlines are pursuing new revenue opportunities by launching innovative products and services.”
