IATA: Air Transport Market Analysis - November 2011

Released 30 December 2011

Key points from our full report on
air transport markets in November:

• Passenger air travel fell in November and air freight markets have remained weak compared to levels reached earlier in the year;
• Total passenger RPKs contracted by 0.5% from October;
• The year-on-year comparison shows 4.3% growth for passenger travel, relative to 3.6% in October - but this acceleration in growth is not representative of actual performance, the comparison is being made with a weak November last year;
• International markets were weaker in November than domestic markets - international markets contracted 1.5% compared to October, while domestic markets grew 1.3%;
• Passenger load factors fell significantly in international markets in November, increasing the difficulty for airlines to sustain the unit revenues achieved in Q3;
• Freight market conditions continue to deteriorate with load factors now 6 percentage points lower than their peak in mid-2010, and RPKs 4% lower than the high in January;
• Business confidence remains low; the outlook indicates that further weakening of passenger and freight markets is likely in the months ahead.