INTERNATIONAL PASSENGER DEMAND DECLINED 3.1 PCT IN APRIL

KUALA LUMPUR, May 27 (Bernama) -- The International Air Transport
Association (IATA) says international passenger demand in April dropped 3.1
percent while international cargo declined 21.7 percent.

In a statement here Wednesday, releasing international traffic data, IATA
said the average passenger load factor stood at 74.4 percent.

The association said while April’s 3.1 percent passenger demand drop was a
clear improvement compared to the 11.1 percent fall in March, it should still be
viewed with caution.

Easter holidays which fell in the month of April, positively moved up the
data by at least two percent, it said.

"Traffic gains were at the expense of yields in most regions. And
preliminary data for May suggests a renewed double digit decline, at least for
European airlines," it said.

“We are not out of the woods yet,” said IATA's director general and chief
executive officer Giovanni Bisignani.

“The demand improvements that we saw in April are welcome. But the 3.1
percent decline in passenger demand still outstripped the 2.5 percent cutback in
capacity. There is no improvement in revenues as yields continue to fall.

"And freight remains at shockingly low levels. The worst may be over.
However, we have not yet seen any signs that recovery is imminent,” said
Bisignani.

He said carriers in all regions showed double digit declines with Middle
Eastern carriers being the strongest performers, declining by -11.1 percent
while European, North American, Asia-Pacific and African carriers had similar
performance of -23.3 percent, -22.4 percent, -22.3 percent and –18.8 percent
respectively.

Latin American carriers were the worst performers at -24.2 percent. --
BERNAMA