Demand for airfreight remained subdued in April, according to the latest statistics from the Kuala Lumpur-based Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) which represents 17 scheduled international airlines based in theregion.
International freight traffic growing by 2.1 per cent in Freight Tonne Km (FTK) terms, but the average cargo load factor for the month gained 1.6 percentage points to 67.2 per cent, on a 0.3 per cent reduction in offered capacity.
“For the first four months of the year, AAPA member airlines carried 48.5 million international passengers, representing 3.5 per cent growth compared to the same period last year. The growth in air cargo demand has been even more modest, only 2.5 per cent higher for the same period,” said AAPA’s director general, Andrew Herdsman.
“Airlines around the world are struggling to cope with the impact of runaway oil prices, amidst signs of weakening demand growth, for both business and leisure traffic. Sharply higher fuel costs are inevitably driving up the cost of travel.
“Meanwhile, airlines are looking to cut back poorly performing routes, whilst maximising their utilisation of more fuel-efficient aircraft. Nevertheless, after the doubling of oil prices over the past year, there is no sign of any respite from the current challenges.”