Low fares and an improving global economy pushed worldwide
air travel demand up 10.7 percent year over year in April, the highest year-over-year
monthly rate of growth in six years, according to the International Air
Transport Association.
Year over year for the three months preceding April, the
cost of air travel decreased 10 percent on an inflation-adjusted basis. That
accounted for about half of April's demand growth, according to IATA. For
international air travel, April demand rose 12.5 percent year over year, and for
the first time in 12 years, every region saw a double-digit percentage increase
in traffic.
In the Middle East, however, April's international demand grew
slower than the five-year average growth pace. It's the only region where that
occurred, and it could reflect the U.S.'s ban on in-cabin laptops and other
large electronic devices on flights from the region. "There are
indications that passengers are avoiding routes where the large [personal
electronic device] ban is in place," IATA director general and CEO
Alexandre de Juniac said. "If the ban were extended to Europe-to-U.S .flights
… we estimate a $1.4 billion hit on productivity. And an IATA-commissioned
survey of business travelers indicated that 15 percent would seek to reduce
their travel in the face of a ban."
In
domestic markets, April demand rose 7.7 percent year over year, outpacing the capacity
growth of 6.2 percent. Demand rose in all major domestic markets except
Australia.