Asia-Pacific airlines are looking forward to significant growth in 2024. Despite facing increasing headwinds, marked by sharply higher fuel costs in recent months, the region's carriers are buoyed by the strong recovery of air travel.
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Strong Recovery and Anticipated Growth
In September, Asia-Pacific Airlines carried 23.7 million international passengers, more than double what they carried in September last year. However, these numbers are still lower than the 29.1 million passengers carried in 2019. For the first nine months of this year, they carried 194.3 million passengers, which is 69% of the 280.7 million for the same period in 2019. Despite these challenges, airlines in the region have been cautious in returning capacity to match demand. They are now facing challenges such as increasing fuel costs and softening demand due to economic pressures.
The Role of Major Chinese Airlines
The last of the travel restrictions in China have been lifted and major Chinese carriers, such as Sichuan Airlines, Air China, China Eastern, and China Southern, are rapidly resuming routes and returning to pre-COVID capacity levels. This has led to a significant increase in passenger traffic, which is now tracking around 81% of 2019 levels and has steadily risen for most of the year.
Looking Forward
The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) released its preliminary traffic figures for September, showing an industry finishing the year strongly and poised for growth in 2024. The association represents more than one-third of global passenger traffic, making its outlook a significant indicator of global trends. In conclusion, despite the challenges faced by the aviation industry due to the pandemic and rising fuel costs, Asia-Pacific airlines are optimistic about their growth prospects in 2024. They are looking forward to continuing the strong recovery of air travel in the region.
