IATA Market Analysis August 2023

Passenger traffic growth continued in August

• Industry-wide revenue passenger-kilometers (RPKs) increased 28.4% year-on-year (YoY) in August. Compared to 2019 levels, passenger traffic recovered to 95.7%.
• Available seat-kilometers (ASKs) rose at a slower annual pace of 24.9%, lifting passenger load factors (PLFs) close to pre-pandemic levels. The PLF in August was 84.6%, 1.1 ppts lower than the PLF for the same month in 2019.
• Domestic passenger traffic grew 9.2% over pre-pandemic levels. Most monitored markets saw stable growth in domestic traffic, while Japan experienced disruptions due to Typhoon Khanun.
• The recovery of international RPKs remained at 88.5% of 2019 levels. Regions experienced different outcomes while Asia Pacific carriers continued to restore international traffic.

• Ticket sales data signaled unwinding domestic demand while international bookings remained on the same positive trend. 

Air cargo recorded first annual growth since Feb 2022

• Global cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs) increased by 1.5% year-on-year (YoY) in August, the first annual growth in 19 months since February 2022. Industry CTKs were 1.3% lower than their 2019 levels.
• Air cargo capacity, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometers (ACTKs), continued its double-digit growth. ACTKs were up 12.2% YoY, driven by the sustained expansion of belly capacity in the summer season.
• Air cargo's historic tie with industrial production and cross-border trade trended back to realignment. However, the sustained annual contraction of trade remains a worrying signal to air cargo demand.
• Inflation in the US continued to increase for the second month in a row, after 13 months of decline. Although China's CPI growth reverted to positive from the July level, the country recorded negative PPI in August for the16th consecutive month.

• Airlines in the Asia Pacific, North America, Latin America, and Middle East regions registered annual growth in their international CTKs in August, owing to the improved traffic in major trade lanes.