IATA: Passenger Traffic Maintains Strong Growth Trend

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced global passenger traffic results for October showing continued strong demand growth for both domestic and international traffic compared to the year-ago period. Total revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs) rose 7.5%, which was in line with the 7.4% year-over-year expansion seen in September. October capacity (available seat kilometers or ASKs) increased by 5.7%, and load factor rose 1.4 percentage points to 80.5%. Growth in air travel has been stimulated by lower fares, particularly for leisure travel. Data for the first 8 months of the year show a 5% fall in average fares in currency-adjusted terms.