The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced global passenger traffic results for July showing demand growth of 5.3% (measured in revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs) over the previous July.
Capacity expanded exactly in tandem with demand (5.3%), resulting in a global load factor of 82.3%, unchanged from last year.
"July was another strong month of growth for air travel. People are connecting by air in ever greater numbers. That's true across all regions. Despite the various economic challenges, the outlook for passenger travel remains broadly positive. The overall sluggishness at the beginning of the year appears to be behind us with growth in China and other emerging economies offsetting recent deterioration in the Eurozone," said Tony Tyler, IATA's director general and CEO.
July international passenger demand rose by 5.5% compared to the same month in 2013. This was outstripped by a capacity expansion of 6.2% which resulted in a slight weakening of the load factor to 81.9% (down 0.5 percentage points from the year-ago period, but still at a very high level).
While, demand on domestic routes rose by 4.9% in July over the previous year, ahead of a 3.5% capacity increase, pushing load factor up 1.1 percentage points to 83%. The strongest growth was recorded in China (8.8%) and Russia (9.9%).
India's domestic market increased by a solid 6% in July over the previous year. This could be an early sign of the success of the new government's business-friendly stance. However, the government's July budget announcement showed little spending stimulus which could keep India's growth trend below the pace of other emerging markets.
"Airlines reported growth in July, which is a positive story for the global economy. Robust economic conditions support the expansion of travel. In turn connectivity stimulates economic growth and creates jobs. It’s a tried and tested virtuous circle. And the expectation is for continued solid growth over the remainder of 2014," said Tyler.
"We cannot ignore, however, the risks that could de-rail this trajectory. The Ebola outbreak in West Africa, weakness in the Eurozone, hostilities in Eastern Ukraine and instability in the Middle East loom large. Airlines are on track to record a profit of some USD 18 billion this year. But that is a net profit margin of just 2.4% which does not provide much of a buffer. So it is critical that governments shore-up connectivity with business friendly policies based on reasonable taxation, cost-efficient infrastructure and smart regulation," added Tyler.
