January 2024 global air demand, measured in revenue
passenger kilometers, increased 16.6 percent year over year and was at 99.6
percent of January 2019 levels, according to the latest International Air
Transport Association report, released Wednesday. In December, the 2019
comparison level was at 97.5 percent.
Total January capacity, measured in available seat
kilometers, was up 14.1 percent compared with a year prior and came within 0.5
percent of January 2019 levels, according to IATA.
International January traffic was up 20.8 percent versus
January 2023, with capacity up 20.9 percent. Total domestic air demand
increased 10.4 percent, with capacity up 4.6 percent.
“2024 is off to a strong start despite economic and
geopolitical uncertainties,” IATA director general Willie Walsh said in a
statement. “As governments look to build prosperity in their economies in
the busiest election-year ever, it is critical that they see aviation as a
catalyst for growth.”
[Report continues below chart.]
Asia-Pacific carriers once again led other regions in international
demand growth, with January 2024 traffic up 45.4 percent versus January 2023.
Capacity increased 48.1 percent for the period. The strong growth rate is
mainly due to China, which a year earlier had begun to lift Covid-19 travel
restrictions, according to IATA, which added that “the recovery in major
international routes to/from Asia-Pacific is still lagging, but routes such as
Asia-Middle East have exceeded pre-pandemic levels.”
European carriers’ January 2024 international traffic and
capacity each increased by double digit percentages versus a year prior, and
the load factor was up 0.1 percentage points. “Routes between Europe and
North America have rebounded particularly strongly from the pandemic, and stand
6.5 percent higher than in January 2020,” according to IATA.
For North America, January international demand and capacity
each also increased by double-digit percentages year over year, however load
factor declined 1 percentage point from January 2023.
On the domestic front, January air demand increased across
all countries IATA tracked, however there was a pull-back in capacity by four
of the six countries. Those two exceptions were Australia, in which capacity
increased 6.3 percent year over year, and China, which reported a 19.2 percent
increase.
Domestic load factors for January each were up except for
Australia, which reported a 0.7 percentage point decrease from January 2023.
China had the highest January 2024 load factor increase at 8.4 percentage
points, followed by India at 4.2 percentage points.
