Passenger Demand Remains Strong While Air Cargo Tracks Near Pre-COVID Levels

Welcome back! This week we look at some positive news on forward bookings, updates on cargo volumes and passenger travel for July, the vital importance of safety leadership, high hopes for an LTAG agreement at the 41st?ICAO Assembly and more. Let's get to it.

July Passenger Demand Remains Strong

Air passenger travel continues its robust recovery, with revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs) rising by 76.2% in year-on-year (YoY) terms in July. Domestic RPKs are now the main driver of the recovery. Volumes grew by 4.1% YoY and reached 86.9% of 2019 levels in July.

International RPKs continue to increase globally, supported by easing travel restrictions in Asia Pacific. Traffic increased 150.6% YoY, which places the international industry 32.1% below July 2019.

Total traffic?(RPKs) in July 2022 was up 58.8% compared to July 2021. Globally, traffic is now at 74.6% of pre-crisis levels.

The load factor remains high industry wide at 83.5%, with North America in the lead at 88.2%. International flights sport an 85% load factor compared to 81.3% in domestic markets.

Looking ahead, forward bookings indicate a clear upward trend for domestic traffic. International bookings lost a bit of momentum in July, a slight decrease that is attributed to seasonal trends.

Read more on July passenger numbers:?

• Full July 2022 Air Passenger Market Analysis
• July Passenger Demand Remains Strong?(press release)

Air Cargo Tracks Near Pre-COVID Levels

Globally, the easing of restrictions in China and reduced disruption in global supply chains are likely to be supportive of world trade and air cargo volumes in coming months, while high inflation and rising interest rates are expected to have a dampening effect on demand.

Data for July 2022 global air cargo markets show demand continued to track at near pre-pandemic levels in July (-3.5%), but below July 2021 performance (-9.7%).

Global demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs*), fell 9.7% compared to July 2021 (-10.2% for international operations). Demand stood at -3.5% compared to July 2019.

Capacity was 3.6% above July 2021 (+6.8% for international operations) but still 7.8% below July 2019 levels.

Read more on July cargo numbers:?

• Air Freight Monthly Analysis
• Air Cargo Tracks Near Pre-COVID Levels (press release)

ICAO Alignment Needed for Net Zero Vision

The path to net zero involves a combination of sustainable aviation fuels, new propulsion technology, infrastructure and operational efficiencies, and carbon offsets/carbon capture.

All require significant investment that, in turn, relies on a solid regulatory framework to provide investor confidence. A ?Long-Term Aspirational Goal should promote policy harmonization worldwide and support airlines in achieving a net zero future.

But a number of complex political arguments rear their head at state level.

Read more about high hopes for an agreement at the 41st?ICAO Assembly.

News in Brief

? Mark Searle on the importance of safety leadership

? Aviation Day Peru: Priorities for a successful and sustainable aviation sector

? August Cargo Tracker: Modernizing data exchange, WCS & more

Chart of the Week: Looking at the Vacancy-to-Unemployment Ratio and the Falling Unemployment Rate

Labor markets are tight and getting tighter globally.

Unemployment has continued to fall in the majority of the OECD member countries, by 0.3 percentage points on average between February and April, to 4.9% in June, the lowest level since 2001.

More people working and earning is unambiguously good news for both the global economy and the air transport sector.

Read more about the unemployment rate and the?#WeeklyChart.

Video of the Week: World Cargo Symposium Preview

Jet Fuel Price (as of 2 September 2022)

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