Andrzej Jeziorski/TOKYO
Asia's airline industry has staged a convincing recovery from the downturn which shook the sector following the region's 1997 financial crash. The Association of Asia-Pacific Airlines (AAPA)reveals that most of its member carriers have exhibited 11 months of growth.
Asia Pacific is enjoying a resurgence of traffic, producing figures which, "for some airlines, have been really quite surprising", AAPA director-general Richard Stirland said at the AAPA assembly of airline presidents in Tokyo late last month. He cautioned, however, that growth has not been even and that there are some regions "where the growth in traffic is weak, or the yields are weak".
AAPA says the most buoyant of its 18 member airlines have enjoyed double-digit growth, and that most are profitable - a major turnaround from the previous year when, according to AAPA's 1999 annual report, member carriers suffered the biggest decline in operating profits since the association began compiling statistics 30 years ago.
Consolidated results for the period show a 50.1% decline in operating profit, to $1.05 billion, and a 14.9% drop in revenues, to $44.38 billion.
Stirland suggests recent Asian moves to increase capacity, including new aircraft orders from China Airlines and Singapore Airlines, are evidence of renewed confidence, while he highlights increases in higher-yield business class traffic as particularly important.
Air New Zealand managing director Jim McCrea sounds a note of caution, however, warning that the rising cost of fuel, together with high en route and airport charges, represent "clouds on the horizon".
One victim of the region's economic turbulence, Papua New Guinea flag carrier Air Niugini, was expelled from the association at the meeting after failing to pay membership fees.
Some reports say that the airline has been in arrears for four years. Philippine Airlines and Garuda Indonesia, which also came close to expulsion, have cleared their outstanding fees.
AAPA membership includes all major airlines in Australasia, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, South East Asia and Taiwan.
Source: Flight International
