Mideast carriers continue to buck global crisis

The Middle East was the only region where airlines showed a growth in passenger demand in July, according to latest figures from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

The 13.2 percent growth in July was slightly better than the 12.9% recorded in June, and was fueled by increased capacity and greater market share in traffic between Europe and Asia, the IATA said.

This is in contrast to a global decline of 2.9 percent compared to the same month in the previous year. Worldwide, freight demand was down 11.3 percent while international passenger load factors stood at 80.3 percent.

The July passenger demand fall of 2.9 percent was a relative improvement over the 7.2 percent drop in June and the 6.8 percent decline recorded over the first seven months of the year.

July capacity was more in line with reduced demand than in previous months and load factors are similar to those recorded in July 2008.

These positive developments, however, have come at the expense of yields which continue to fall sharply.

“Demand may look better, but the bottom line has not improved,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO, said of the global findings. “We have seen little change to the unprecedented fall in yields and revenues.

“The months ahead are marked by many uncertainties, including the price of oil, and the road to recovery will be both slow and volatile,” he added. “In the meantime, the industry remains in intensive care.”

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