Airlines in Asia Pacific continue to grow in May with a 12.2 per cent increase in freight tonne kilometres (FTK), the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) says.

Cargo measured in FTKs were up 12.2 per cent in May to 5.8 billion and capacity in available FTKs (AFTK) grew by 4.3 per cent to 8.9 billion, pushing up load factors by 4.7 percentage points to 65.6 per cent.

Between January and May, FTKs increased 10.5 per cent to 27.8 billion, AFTK was up 3.6 per cent and load factors rose four percentage points to 63.6 per cent.

AAPA director general, Andrew Herdman says: “The ongoing pick-up in the global economy, accompanied by increased consumer and investment spending has provided a boost to both international air passenger and air cargo markets. Asian carriers are major players in the global air cargo market, and continue to benefit from the upswing in trade growth.”

Herdman says though the outlook is positive, profitability is constrained by yield pressures and higher operating costs.

He says: “Given the still challenging operating environment, airlines remain focused on disciplined cost management efforts throughout the business, whilst pursuing further growth opportunities.”