IATA: Passenger demand rebounds to 6.3% in October

Annual growth in global passenger demand rebounded to 6.3% in October from an eight-month low of 5.5% in September, although the upward trend in demand has slowed over the past six months, according to IATA. While industry-wide load factor remained flat at 81.1%—a record high for the month of October—capacity is now trending upward slightly faster than demand. “October’s healthy performance is reassuring after the slower demand growth in September—some of which was attributable to weather-related disruptions,” IATA DG and CEO Alexandre de Juniac said. “However, the bigger picture is that traffic growth has moderated compared to earlier in the year, reflecting a more mixed economic backdrop and reduced demand stimulation from lower fares.” October international passenger demand climbed 6.3% year-over-year (YOY), up from 5.1% in September, with all regions notching gains. Domestic demand rose 6.4% from the year-earlier period, unchanged from September, led by double-digit gains in India (15%), China (12.2%) and Russia (11.7%).<br/>