Preliminary results for April 2006 show further growth in the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines passenger traffic, with 10.9 million international passengers carried during the month, up 6.7%, boosted by travel during the busy holiday period. Traffic measured in revenue passenger kilometres (RPK) terms grew by 7.0% and, with capacity up just 2.4%, resulted in a 3.2 percentage point improvement in load factor to 74.7%.
For the first four months of the year, AAPA international passenger traffic has recorded growth of 5.2%, with an average load factor of 74.7%.
Commenting on the figures, Mr. Andrew Herdman, AAPA`s Director General, said: We`re happy to see further positive growth in demand for international travel, with passenger numbers up 5.2% for the first four months of the year, and in April itself, up 6.7%. The air cargo business is also progressing well, up 5.6% over last year. However, the airlines are still wrestling with the impact of extremely high fuel prices, which have undermined profitability.
