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These pages provide analysis of economic and policy developments affecting the financial performance of the global airline industry.
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Cargo traffic maintains recovery trend amid challenges
After an outstanding performance in 2021, air cargo demand faced consecutive year-on-year (YoY) declines in 2022, a trend that persisted until July 2023. However, August marked a turning point with the first annual growth since February 2022
- Chart of the Week
Broad passenger growth across markets in Q2 2023
In Q2 2023, global origin-destination (O-D) passenger traffic grew 28.9% compared to Q2 2022 levels, totaling 954 million passengers. This brought global passenger traffic close to pre-pandemic levels, just 3.5% below Q2 2019.
- Chart of the Week
Airlines operate key hubs for growth and connectivity
Airlines efficiently connect passengers across cities using strategic hub-and-spoke systems, consolidating and directing travelers through central hub airports. This approach enables airlines to resourcefully transport an increasing number of passengers to various destinations while benefiting from economies of scale and traffic density. Today’s chart highlights the pivotal airports through which airlines facilitate passenger flows between global markets, driving strong traffic recovery and connectivity growth.
- Chart of the Week
July sets all-time high for domestic passenger traffic
Domestic air travel has been a driving force in the recovery of global passenger demand since the onset of the pandemic, mainly due to the early reopening of domestic markets.
- Chart of the Week
Balancing fleet age for efficiency and sustainable growth
Airlines modernize their fleets in a structural quest for lower fuel consumption and the associated carbon emissions reduction. Additionally, fleets are optimized to meet global passenger demand while capturing operational efficiency gains. Newer aircraft models offer better fuel economy and operational performance, resulting in cost savings and lower CO2 emissions. Given the significant cost of commercial aircraft, airlines often lease their assets, with ownership and leasing evenly split in the industry.
- Chart of the Week
Sustainable aviation fuel output increases, but volumes still low
In the pursuit of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, the aviation industry finds itself at a pivotal juncture. A combination of technological solutions is required to achieve that ambitious goal. Various pathways to net zero are possible but all feature Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) as a key component in curtailing carbon emissions within the hard-to-abate air transport sector.
- Chart of the Week
Asia Pacific traffic dominates top 10 city pairs
An analysis of air passenger journeys shows that by far the most popular origin - destination (O-D) passenger route across the past twelve months was Jeju-si to/from Seoul. This strong performance is consistent with the pre-pandemic (2019) statistics, where the same route saw 65% higher passenger demand than the next busiest route which at the time was Tokyo-Sapporo
- Chart of the Week
Industry employment yet to fully recover from the pandemic
Today’s chart depicts developments in airline employment, based on IATA’s Annual Air Transport Survey. Data for the Top 25 airlines (by employment size) are used to proxy the industry total.
- Chart of the Week
Int’l RPK and ASK growth realign, restore load factors
Our latest Air Passenger Monthly Analysis highlighted the very positive developments achieved by the global air passenger industry over the first half (H1) of this year. Domestic passenger traffic has rebounded beyond prepandemic levels, fueled by robust demand across all regions. This resurgence was bolstered by the strong performance of major domestic markets, including the US and PR China. On the other hand, international traffic is still recovering, but at a rapid pace propelled by pent-up demand.
- Chart of the Week
Regions maintain shares of originating and connecting pax
Despite the staggered re-opening between countries and regions, which has influenced the pace of the postCovid recovery across aviation markets, it is interesting to note how stable the global traffic share of different regions has remained
- Chart of the Week
Post pandemic connectivity recovery nearly complete
The latest quarterly IATA air connectivity analysis shows that in Q2 of 2023 the majority of countries across the globe have reached or exceeded their pre-pandemic levels of connectivity.
- Chart of the Week
The busiest hour at the busiest airport in the world
The Airports Council International (ACI) World recently released its annual airport ranking, highlighting the remarkable resurgence of international air travel across various hubs in 2022.
- Chart of the Week
Survey further reveals post-pandemic air traveler trends
IATA has recently completed the 10th edition of its Passenger Trends and Insights Survey undertaken in late April 2023, which asks more than 4,500 air travelers across 11 countries about their traveling habits and views towards the aviation industry.
- Chart of the Week
Getting to net-zero aviation – a bottom-up roadmap approach
IATA recently released five strategic roadmaps which provide an overview of the crucial steps required to achieve aviation’s transition to net zero CO2 emissions; a goal which airlines have committed to achieving by 2050. The roadmaps range across aircraft technology, energy infrastructure, operations, finance, and policy.
- Chart of the Week
Air passenger traffic and capacity recovery in Africa
IATA’s recent Focus Africa Conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, attracted the participation of more than 400 aviation leaders and stakeholders. The event tackled critical issues affecting air travel and cargo transportation in Africa, covering topics such as safety, regulation, sustainability, trade, and economic growth in the region.
- Chart of the Week
