Middle East carriers experienced the strongest traffic growth at 11.7 per cent during November 2014, compared to the same period previous year, the International Air Transport Association (Iata) has announced.

This was the fourth consecutive month of double-digit year-over-year growth for the region as the region’s economies are comparatively well-placed to withstand plunging oil revenues. Capacity rose 13.9pc and load factor fell 1.4 percentage points to 70.1pc.

Global passenger traffic continued to show healthy demand in November 2014 with an increase of 5.4pc compared to the year-ago period.

Total revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs) rose 6pc compared to November 2013, which was ahead of the 5.7pc year-over-year growth recorded in October as well as the 10-year average growth rate of 5.6pc. November capacity expanded by 5.4pc, leading to a 0.5 percentage point rise in the load factor to 76.7pc.

Growth was driven primarily by domestic markets which experienced a 6.9 per cent increase in demand over the previous November (an acceleration over the 5.3pc year-to-date average for domestic travel). Chinese domestic travel (which rose 15.4pc over the previous November) was the main contributor to this growth.

International travel, meanwhile, experienced a slight deceleration in growth towards the end of the year.

 “November demand was healthy, but the overall picture is mixed. For example, strong traffic performance within China and India has not carried over into international demand for Asia-Pacific carriers. And while lower oil prices should be positive for economic activity, softening business confidence is having a dampening effect on international travel,” said Tony Tyler, Iata’s director general and CEO.

International capacity rose 5.9pc and the load factor dipped 0.3 percentage points to 75.1pc. All regions except Africa recorded year-over-year increases in demand. However, compared to October, most regions reported slower demand growth for November.  – TradeArabia News Service