األحد

2016مايو 8

http://www.thenational.ae/

Airways to cover injured turbulence passengers’ medical expensesEtihad

DUBAI // Etihad Airways will cover the medical expenses of the

passengers injured when flight EY474 Abu Dhabi to Jakarta

encountered severe and unexpected turbulence.

A team from the airline visited the nine passengers taken to

hospital after the flight touched down at Soekarno Hatta

International Airport on Wednesday. Most of the passengers were

expected to have been discharged by Thursday. The team

confirmed the airline would cover medical expenses.

“Our pilots and cabin crew are to be commended for the calm

and professional manner in which they dealt with this exceptional

event and the care they showed passengers despite several

being injured themselves," said James Hogan, Etihad Airways’

president and chief executive.

“It is testament to the high standard of our crew training that the

effects of the turbulence were minimised. At no time was the

safety of the aircraft, passengers or crew compromised."

Etihad is co-operating fully with the Indonesian authorities in

their investigation.

Passengers on board the Airbus A330-200 have described the

moment the aircraft hit turbulence 45 minutes before it was due

to land.

Ari, an Indonesian boy who was travelling with his father, said it

was a traumatic flight.

“My dad was badly injured in the head," he said on Twitter.

“Everyone started to cry. It was the most scariest turbulence

experience I’ve ever had."

The airline cancelled Wednesday’s return flight EY475 from

Jakarta to Abu Dhabi. Those scheduled to travel were rebooked

on alternate flights or provided hotel accommodation, an Etihad

spokesman said.

http://www.iata.org/

Weak March Air Freight Volumes Point to Another Difficult Year

Geneva - The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released

demand growth data for global air freight markets for March 2016

showing a 2.0% drop in volumes measured in freight tonne kilometers

(FTKs) compared to the same period last year. In contrast, freight

capacity (measured in available freight tonne kilometers or AFTKs) rose

by 6.9%, putting increased pressure on already struggling yields.

The weak results reflect subdued growth in world trade, exaggerated by

the comparison to a particularly strong start to 2015 when air freight

volumes were boosted by the effects of the US West Coast seaports

strike. The most significant fall in demand was reported by carriers in

Asia-Pacific and North America. Combined they account for around 60%

of global freight traffic and reported declines of 5.2%, and 1.8%,

respectively.

“It is shaping up to be another tough year for air cargo. February 2016

world trade volumes were only 0.4% higher than at the end of 2014. And

the expectations of purchasing managers gives little optimism for an

early uptick. The combination of fierce competition, capacity increases

and stagnant demand makes this a very difficult environment in which to

generate profits,” said Tony Tyler, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

1

http://www.iata.org/ 2

(1) % of industry FTKs in 2015; (2) Year-on-year change in load factor; (3) Load factor level

MARCH 20

16 (%

YEAR-ON-

YEAR)

WORLD

SHARE (1)FTK AFTK

FLF (%-PT) (2)

FLF

(LEVEL) (3)

Total

Market

100.0% -2.0% 6.9% -4.0% 43.5%

Africa 1.5% -3.1% 22.7% -6.9% 25.9%

Asia

Pacific

38.9% -5.2% 3.8% -5.0% 52.5%

Europe 22.3% 1.3% 7.9% -3.0% 46.0%

Latin

America

2.8% -5.9% 2.3% -3.2% 36.9%

Middle

East

14.0% 2.4% 10.8% -3.4% 41.0%

North

America

20.5% -1.8% 7.1% -3.1% 34.2%

(1) % of industry FTKs in 2015; (2) Year-on-year change in

load factor; (3) Load factor level

http://www.iata.org/ 3Regional Analysis in Detail

African airlines witnessed a 3.1% drop in demand in March 2016

compared to the same period last year. A more modest decline of 1.6%

was seen in year-on-year Q1 performance. Notably, on the back of

long-haul expansion, the AFTKs for African airlines surged by 22.6%

year-on-year over the first quarter of 2016. This is more than double the

pace of any other region in recent months.

Asia-Pacific carriers saw a 5.2% drop in demand in March 2016

compared to the same month last year. The decline is exaggerated by

the effects of last year’s US seaport disruption which fueled strong

demand for the region’s carriers. Nonetheless, demand is weak with

export volumes from emerging Asian economies having contracted in

annual terms for 11 of the past 12 months.

European airlines saw demand for air cargo grow by a modest 1.3% in

March 2016, compared to the same period in 2015, while capacity

increased by 7.9%. Weak cargo demand is a continuing story for

European carriers for whom cargo volumes stand at just 1% above

early 2008 levels.

Latin American carriers saw demand decrease by 5.9% in March 2016

versus March 2015. Volumes are now almost 15% lower that their

seasonally-adjusted peak in late-2014. The hardest hit routes are those

within South America, reflecting the region’s challenging economic

environment, particularly in Brazil.

Middle Eastern carriers reported a 2.4% increase in demand over

March last year—the slowest since July 2009. This reflects both a

slowdown in network expansion by the region’s main carriers over the

past six months and weak trading conditions.

North American airlines saw demand fall by 1.8% in March 2016 versus

March 2015, partially due to the rollover effect of the US port strike in

2015 which gave air freight in the region a boost. Additionally, the

region’s carriers are negatively impacted by the drop in global trade

while the strong US dollar is keeping exports under pressure.

http://www.iata.org/

Moderating Demand Growth in March

1

Geneva - The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced

global passenger traffic results for March showing that demand

(measured in revenue passenger kilometers, or RPKs) rose 5.3%,

compared to the same month last year. Capacity grew slightly faster at

5.9% which pushed the average load factor down by half a percentage

point to 79.6%.

March performance shows a moderate slowdown on the year-on-year

growth rates recorded in January (7.2%) and February (8.6%) even after

adjusting for the leap-year impact in February. Demand for international

traffic grew significantly more quickly (6.2%) than that for domestic

travel (3.7%).

“While in line with long-term trends, demand growth in March

represented a slow-down compared to January and February. It is

premature to say whether this marks the end of the recent very strong

results. We do expect further stimulus in the form of network expansion

and declines in travel costs. However, the wider economic backdrop

remains subdued,” said Tony Tyler, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

http://www.iata.org/ 2

FEBRUARY

2016 (%

YEAR-ON-

YEAR)

WORLD

SHARE1 RPK ASKPLF (%-

PT) 2

PLF

(LEVEL) 3

Total

Market

100.0% 5.3% 5.9% -0.5% 79.6%

Africa 2.2% 9.7% 8.2% 1.0% 68.2%

Asia

Pacific

31.5% 5.1% 6.7% -1.2% 78.3%

Europe 26.7% 5.3% 4.6% 0.5% 80.2%

Latin

America

5.4% 3.8% 2.8% 0.7% 78.3%

Middle

East

9.4% 11.5% 13.4% -1.3% 76.7%

North

America

24.7% 3.0% 3.5% -0.4% 83.6%

(1)% of industry RPKs in 2015 (2)Year-on-year change

in load factor (3)Load factor level

http://www.iata.org/ 3

International Passenger Markets

March international passenger demand rose 6.2% compared to March

2015, which was a decline compared to the 9.1% increase in February.

Airlines in all regions recorded growth. Total capacity climbed 6.9%,

causing load factor to slip 0.5% percentage points to 78.5%.

Asia-Pacific airlines’ traffic rose 6% in March compared to the year-ago

period; however, capacity increased 7.8%, which caused load factor to

slide 1.3 percentage points to 77.4%. Key routes within Asia, across the

Pacific and to the Middle East grew strongly in the opening months,

although Asia to Europe routes lagged behind

European carriers saw March demand climb 5.5% over March 2015.

Capacity rose 5.4% and load factor edged up 0.1 percentage points to

80.8%, highest among regions. The largest routes, including between the

UK and Germany, and to and from Spain, have seen strong growth this

year. It is too soon to know how the terrorist attacks in Brussels will

affect demand.

Middle East carriers experienced a 12% rise in demand in March, which

was the largest increase among regions. Capacity increased 13.6%,

however, and load factor dropped 1.1 percentage points to 76.5%.

North American airlines’ traffic climbed 0.7% in March compared to the

year-ago period, the slowest pace since April 2013. Carriers here have

been concentrating their efforts on the larger and stronger domestic

markets. Capacity rose just 0.6% and load factor was flat at 80.5%.

Latin American airlines had a 7.9% increase in traffic in March, down

from a 10.4% increase in February, suggesting the upward trend in

business-related international demand has softened. Capacity climbed

6.3%, causing load factor to surge 1.2 percentage points to 78.5%.

African airlines continued to enjoy strong demand, with traffic up 11.2%

compared to March 2015. The turnaround after several difficult years

coincides with expansion of long-haul networks by the region’s carriers.

Capacity rose 9.7%, and load factor strengthened to 66.6%, up 0.9

percentage points.

http://www.iata.org/ 4

Domestic Passenger Markets

Domestic demand rose 3.7% in March compared to March 2015, a dramatic slowdown

from the leap year-aided 7.8% growth recorded in February. This was driven primarily

by performance in the two largest markets, the US--which accounts for two of every

five domestic passengers--and China. Domestic capacity climbed 4.3%, and load

factor retreated 0.4 percentage points to 81.6%.

FEBRUARY

2016 (%

YEAR-ON-

YEAR)

WORLD

SHARE1 RPK ASKPLF (%-

PT) 2PLF

(LEVEL) 3

Domestic 36.4% 3.7% 4.3% -0.4% 81.6%

Australia 1.1% 2.3% 2.4% -0.1% 75.7%

Brazil 1.4% -8.3% -7.9% -0.3% 77.1%

China P.R. 8.4% 3.3% 6.3% -2.4% 81.2%

India 1.2% 27.4% 21.7% 3.7% 83.1%

Japan 1.2% -1.7% -3.8% 1.6% 72.3%

Russian

Federation

1.3% 4.0% -4.8% 6.3% 75.0%

US 15.4% 4.1% 4.9% -0.7% 85.4%

(1)% of industry RPKs in 2015 (2)Year-on-year change in load factor (3)Load factor level

*Note: the seven domestic passenger markets for which broken-down data are available

account for 30% of global total RPKs and approximately 82% of total domestic RPKs.

Brazil’s domestic market plunged by 8.3% year-on-year in March, the biggest

contraction in more than 12 years

Russian traffic has bounced back from its November low point following the

shutdown of Transaero, while load factor soared 6.3% percentage points to 75%

on a 4.8% decline in capacity.

http://www.iata.org/ 5

The Bottom line

“In just under a month Dublin will become the focus

of the global air transport industry, when the 72nd

IATA Annual General Meeting and World Air

Transport Summit takes place there, 1-3 June.

Europe is the world’s largest international market in

terms of traffic flown by its carriers. And aviation

supports 12 million European jobs and 4.1% of the

continent’s GDP. But aviation could do much more

if governments would address the triple whammy of

high taxes, overly-complex and punitive

regulations, and inadequate and inefficient

infrastructure. Making Europe an easier place to do

business will help aviation deliver even greater

benefits to the economy,” said Tyler.

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