by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 9:25 AM ET, Thu December 5, 2024
Global air passenger data from October shows how the less popular fall travel season continues to grow this year, up 7.1 percent from October 2023.
The data, released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), found the demand increased in revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs), an important metric for the aviation industry. Capacity was also up 6.1 percent this month.
Demand for international flights was even higher, rising 9.5 percent compared to last October, while countries saw a slight growth in domestic air travel, at just 3.5 percent.
Each region reported an overall growth in air travel demand, with the Asia Pacific region outperforming all in terms of increased growth measured by RPKs at 12.7 percent. Africa came in second, with a 9.3 percent growth year-over-year. Europe, the next highest region, saw a 7.9 percent increase, with Latin America closely following with a 7 percent increase.
International travel within and to these regions also grew from last October: the Asia Pacific region saw a 17.5 percent increase in international travel demand, Latin America saw a 10.9 percent increase, Africa saw a 10.4 percent increase and Europe saw an 8.7 percent increase.
North America saw the lowest overall growth from last year, at 0.3 percent. In fact, while its international demand grew 3.2 percent, domestic air travel demand actually fell by 1.2 percent.
Globally, load factors reached 83.5 percent. Load factors are another important aviation metric, as it is the percentage of how filled commercial aircraft are when they fly.
“Average seat factors have risen from around 67% in the 1990’s to over 83% today. Politicians thinking of trying to tax passengers off planes to reduce emissions would do well to note this,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General, in the data release. “Even if fewer people fly because taxes make it too expensive, it doesn’t automatically mean reduced emissions because the planes will still fly, just with fewer passengers. That would reverse decades of hard won progress. We need to see the planes full to generate the economic and social benefits of travel with the most minimal emissions possible.”
Previous data from ARC showed American travel agencies reached a record-high in plane ticket sales for Americans in October, reaching $8.1 in sales, which is a 12 percent increase from 2023. Over 23 million American air travelers took to the skies in October.
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