Global airline passenger demand in January outpaced supply growth,

with traffic up nearly 3 percent year over year on roughly 2 percent additional capacity, according to the International Air Transport Association. The demand trend in the first month of 2013 showed "a continuation of the uptick in passenger travel that began at the end of 2012," according to IATA, which noted that its monthly data made "demand look weaker than the underlying trend would indicate," as Chinese New Year fell in January in 2012 but in February this year. "After adjusting for such seasonal factors, IATA estimates that the actual growth would have been 3.5 percent." North American airlines in January experienced a 1.5 percent year-over-year increase in demand on nearly a 1 percent decline in capacity. "Demand is strong on the back of improved economic performance in the U.S.," according to IATA.