Airlines in Asia Pacific have seen freight tonne kilometres (FTK) fall by 0.7 per cent in January as cargo volumes remain weak, according to the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA).
FTK fell by 0.7 per cent to 5.1 billion while capacity increased by 2.6 per cent to 8.5 billion available FTK. The load factor fell by two percentage points to 59.6 per cent compared to 61.6 per cent in January 2015.
AAPA director general, Andrew Herdman says the passenger industry is looking positive despite cargo proving weak. “For the region’s carriers, the continued strong growth in passenger demand was a very welcome start to the year, against a backdrop of volatile markets and an increase in global economic risks.”
“The usual lift in air cargo shipments seen ahead of the holiday season had been somewhat muted, as seen in the continued weakness in air cargo volumes.”
The January results continue the weakness seen since the middle of 2015. Volumes in 2015 increased by 1.6 per cent to 64.9 billion because the start of the year received a strong boost due to the US West Coast seaport strike.
