A new ICAO survey released this week shows that the downturn in business on trans-Pacific routes could soon end.
The number of passengers on Pacific routes is expected to rise from 26 million in 1998 to 72 million in 2014, and those on intra-Asia/Pacific routes from 67 million to 145 million over the same period. This should translate into a doubling of aircraft movements across the Pacific, from some 132,000 in 1998 to about 264,000 in 2014.
These projections follow a sharp decline in passenger traffic resulting from the economic and financial downturn in the Asia/Pacific region in 1998. Until then, the Asia/Pacific Region had enjoyed 30 years of uninterrupted growth in air travel, usually at the highest levels in any region of the world.
A combination of factors, including an improved economic environment and an increase in inbound tourism due to favourable exchange rates and vigorous promotion by tourism authorities as well as airlines, account for the anticipated increase in air travel in the area.
Source: Flight Daily News
