IATA announced global passenger traffic results for 2017 showing that demand for the full year rose 7.6% compared to 2016, while capacity was up 6.3%, leading to a record factor of 81.4%.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced global passenger traffic results for 2017 showing that demand (revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs) for the full year rose 7.6% compared to 2016 — well above the 10-year average annual growth rate of 5.5%. Full year 2017 capacity rose 6.3%, and load factor climbed 0.9 percentage point to a record calendar-year high of 81.4%.
The Asia-Pacific region reported the strongest figures, with a 33.7% share of total RPKs, ahead of Europe (26.5%) and North America (23%).
Airlines based in Asia-Pacific posted the fastest full-year international growth rate for the first time in over 20 years (9.4%, up from 8.8% in 2016).
Market share of Middle Eastern airlines, on the other hand, fell for the first time since 2007, largely due to the impact of the ban on personal electronic devices and proposed travel bans to the U.S. The region was the only one to see a slowdown in its full-year international RPK growth rate, to 6.6%, vs. 11.5% in 2016.
The Indian domestic market posted the fastest growth for the third year in a row (at 17.5%, down from 23.3% the previous year), followed by China (13.3%, vs 11.3%).