The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for August 2024 global passenger demand with the following highlights:

• Total demand, measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPK), was up 8.6% compared to August 2023. Total capacity, measured in available seat kilometers (ASK), was up 6.5% year-on-year. The August load factor was 86.2% (+1.6ppt compared to August 2023), a new record high.
• International demand rose 10.6% compared to August 2023. Capacity was up 10.1% year-on-year and the load factor rose to 85.7% (+0.4ppt compared to August 2023).
• Domestic demandrose 5.6% compared to August 2023. Capacity was up 1.2% year-on-year and the load factor was 86.9% (+3.6ppt compared to August 2023).

“The market for air travel is hot and airlines are doing a great job at meeting the growing demand for travel. Efficiency gains have driven load factors to record highs while the 6.5% capacity increase demonstrates resilience in the face of persistent supply chain issues and infrastructure deficiencies,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.

“Looking ahead, the continued strong demand growth signals that we could be fast approaching an infrastructure capacity crunch that would restrict connectivity and choice for passengers and businesses. If governments want to maximize the benefits of aviation, they must take bold decisions to ensure sufficient infrastructure capacity. And, in the interim, both airports and air navigation service providers need to do more with the resources they currently have. In particular, the variance in declared capacity of airports with broadly the same infrastructure needs to be resolved, with airports emulating the best performers. The industry cannot afford to under-utilize the airport infrastructure that we have,” said Walsh.

Air Passenger Market in Detail

August 2024 (% year-on-year)	World Share1	RPK	ASK	PLF(%-PT)2	PLF(Level)3
Total Market	100%	8.6%	6.5%	+1.6%	86.2%
Africa	2.1%	9.6%	6.7%	+2.1%	77.9%
Asia Pacific	31.7%	13.4%	8.7%	+3.6%	86.0%
Europe	27.1%	7.8%	7.3%	+0.4%	87.9%
Latin America	5.5%	6.5%	8.1%	-1.3%	84.0%
Middle East	9.4%	5.0%	5.9%	-0.7%	82.3%
North America	24.2%	4.8%	2.4%	2.0%	87.1%

1) % of industry RPKs in 2023    2) Year-on-year change in load factor    3) Load Factor Level

Regional Breakdown - International Passenger Markets

All regions showed growth for international passenger markets in August 2024 compared to August 2023. Ticket sales in May-July for travel in August-September showed a 6.6% year-on-year increase, which bodes well for further strong growth this year.

Asia-Pacific airlines achieved a 19.9% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity increased 18.8% year-on-year and the load factor was 85.2% (+0.8ppt compared to August 2023). Asia-Pacific is still growing robustly and is now just 8 percentage points from full recovery to pre-pandemic volumes.

European carriers saw a 9.1% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity increased 8.5% year-on-year, and the load factor was 87.2% (+0.5ppt compared to August 2023). The Europe-Asia route was by far the fastest-growing, but it is still markedly below its 2019 peak.

Middle Eastern carriers saw a 4.9% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity increased 5.6% year-on-year and the load factor was 82.5% (-0.6ppt compared to August 2023).

North American carriers saw a 4.3% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity increased 3.8% year-on-year, and the load factor was 88.2% (+0.4 ppt compared to August 2023), the highest among regions.

Latin American airlines saw a 13.6% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity climbed 15.2% year-on-year. The load factor was 85.1% (-1.2ppt compared to August 2023).

African airlines saw a 10.1% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity was up 7.3% year-on-year. The load factor rose to 77.8% (+2.0ppt compared to August 2023).

Domestic Passenger Markets

Domestic demand increased in August, with growth in all key markets, especially China. Domestic ticket sales for August-September grew 4.3% year-on-year, underpinning solid growth prospects for the rest of the year.

August 2024 (% year-on-year)	World Share1	RPK	ASK	PLF(%-PT)2	PLF(LEVEL)3
Domestic	39.9%	5.6%	1.2%	+3.6%	86.9%
Domestic Australia	0.8%	4.9%	0.7%	3.5%	87.1%
Domestic Brazil	1.2%	4.9%	6.7%	-1.4%	81.7%
Domestic China P.R.	11.2%	10.7%	1.4%	+7.3%	86.3%
Domestic India	1.8%	5.0%	7.3%	-1.8%	82.9%
Domestic Japan	1.1%	7.6%	2.0%	+4.5%	87.2%
Domestic US	15.4%	5.5%	1.9%	+2.9%	86.2%

1) % of industry RPKs in 2023    2) year-on-year change in load factor    3) Load Factor Level 

> View the August Air Passenger Market Analysis (pdf)

CARGO

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for August 2024 global air cargo markets showing continued strong annual growth in demand.

• Total demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs*), rose by 11.4% compared to August 2023 levels (12.4% for international operations). This is the ninth consecutive month of double-digit year-on-year growth, with overall levels reaching heights not seen since the record peaks of 2021.
• Capacity, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometers (ACTKs), increased by 6.2% compared to August 2023 (8.2% for international operations). This was largely related to the growth in international belly capacity, which rose 10.9% on the strength of passenger markets. Industry-wide capacity has reached an all-time high.

“We continue to see very good news in air cargo markets. The sector recorded a second consecutive month of record high demand year-to-date. Even with record levels of capacity, yields are up 11.7% on 2023, 2% on the previous month, and 46% above pre-pandemic levels. This strong performance is underpinned by slow but steady growth in global trade, booming e-commerce, and continuing capacity constraints on maritime shipping,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.

Several factors in the operating environment should be noted:

• Industrial production stayed level in August month-on-month and global cross-border trade fell marginally with -0.3%.
• In August both the Purchasing Managers Index (PMIs) for global manufacturing output and the PMI for new export orders were below the 50-mark at 49.9 and 48.4 respectively, indicating contraction.
• Inflation saw a mixed picture in August. In the US and EU, inflation rates fell to 2.6% and 2.4% respectively, the lowest rates since 2021. In contrast, Japan’s inflation ticked up 0.3 percentage points to 3.0%, the highest rate in ten months. China’s inflation rate continued its moderate upward trend, growing by 0.1 percentage points to reach 0.7%, the highest rate in six months.

Air Cargo Market in Detail

August 2024 (%year-on-year)	World Share *1	CTK	ACTK	CLF (%-pt) *2	CLF (level) *3
Total Market	100%	11.4%	6.2%	2.0%	44.0%
Africa	2.0%	7.5%	11.4%	-1.4%	37.8%
Asia Pacific	33.3%	14.6%	8.6%	2.4%	46.6%
Europe	21.4%	13.5%	9.4%	1.8%	50.1%
Latin America	2.8%	14.2%	8.0%	1.9%	35.9%
Middle East	13.5%	13.5%	4.0%	3.7%	44.5%
North America	26.9%	4.8%	2.4%	0.9%	38.7%

 (*1) % of industry CTKs in 2023    (*2) Year-on-year change in load factor     (*3) Load factor level

August Regional Performance

Asia-Pacific airlines saw 14.6% year-on-year demand growth for air cargo in August – the strongest of all regions. Demand on the Asia-Africa, Asia-Europe and within-Asia markets grew by 21.2%, 18.4% and 16.1% respectively. Intra-Asia demand growth decreased by 5.0 percentage points from the previous month, partially linked to the social unrest in Bangladesh and Typhoon Shanshan in Japan. Both events impacted local logistics operations with airport closures and flight cancellations.

Capacity increased by 8.6% year-on-year.

North American carriers saw 4.8% year-on-year demand growth for air cargo in August– the lowest of all regions. Demand on the Asia-North America trade lane, the largest trade lane by volume, grew by 9.3% year-on-year, while the North America-Europe route saw a more modest increase of 6.1%. August capacity increased by 2.4% year-on-year.

European carriers saw 13.5% year-on-year demand growth for air cargo in August. The Middle East–Europe trade lane led growth, up 28.9%, maintaining a streak of double-digit annual growth that originated in September 2023. The Europe–Asia route, the second largest market, was up 18.4%. Within Europe also saw double-digit growth, up 15.0%. August capacity increased 9.4% year-on-year.

Middle Eastern carriers saw 13.5% year-on-year demand growth for air cargo in August. As mentioned above, the Middle East–Europe market performed particularly well surging 28.9%, ahead of Middle East-Asia which grew by 13.5% year-on-year. August capacity increased 4.0% year-on-year.

Latin American carriers saw 14.2% year-on-year demand growth for air cargo in August. Capacity increased 8.0% year-on-year.

African airlines saw 7.5% year-on-year demand growth for air cargo in August. Demand on the Africa–Asia market increased by 21.1% compared to August 2023, maintaining a streak of double-digit annual growth that originated in the second half of 2023. August capacity increased by 11.4% year-on-year.  

> View August 2024 Air Cargo Market Analysis (pdf)