Indian domestic air travel market witnessed a strong 6 per cent growth in July over the same period last year, according to the latest figures by International Air Travel Association (IATA).
“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,” IATA said in the statement.
India's revenue passenger kilometres (RPK), which measures actual passenger traffic, rose 6 per cent in July with passenger load factor or PLF which measure their capacity utilisation or average aircraft seats filled, stood at 69.4 per cent, the data showed.
High PLF indicates better utilisation of capacity but India figures among the bottom of the heap among the major markets in terms of this parameter. This is partly to do with fresh capacity creation in the market.
While the global 'international' passenger traffic grew 5.5 per cent in the month with a PLF of 82.3 per cent, global 'domestic' air travel rose 4.9 per cent during the month, compared with a 3.5 per cent capacity increase with a load factor of 83 per cent, the statement showed. Overall the industry grew 5.3 per cent.
Russia and China posted strongest growth of 8.8 per cent and 9.9 per cent, respectively, in terms of domestic traffic during the month over the corresponding month 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," IATA director general and CEO Tony Tyler, said in the statement.
Australia posted a negative growth in the month at 1.6 per cent, while Brazil grew just 0.7 per cent in the month the same period last year. The US registered a growth of 3.6 per cent during the month.
“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,” Tyler said.
(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)
