Mideast airlines report 15% rise in passengers

Dubai: Airlines in the Middle East reported a 15.4 per cent increase in March passenger numbers, helped by the expanding economies in the region, but the growth was slower compared with the corresponding period in 2007.

According to monthly figures released by an industry group, the global airline industry is continuing to witness a slowdown in passenger growth since December due to the impact of the US credit crunch.

Passenger growth was 5.8 per cent in March, but adjusted for the Easter holiday period, which fell in April last year, the real growth was just four per cent, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said.

Even for the Middle East the rate of growth for March was five per cent lower than the 20.4 per cent recorded in the same month last year.

IATA sees international freight growth of 3.2 per cent as sluggish compared with the 4.3 per cent growth recorded in 2007.

Oil prices

"Traffic only tells a part of the story. Astronomical oil prices are hitting hard. And the buffer of an expanding economy has disappeared. The fortunes of the industry have taken a major turn for the worse," Giovanni Bisignani, IATA's director-general, said in a statement on Friday.

Passenger load factor, or the ratio of seats filled, was recorded at 77.7 per cent, but it was 76.1 per cent when adjusted for the "artificially high utilisation" over the Easter period, and 1.7 lower than March 2007.

The Middle East and Latin America were the only regions to witness double-digit growths in passenger numbers.

European airline passenger traffic grew by 3.7 per cent, Asia-Pacific carriers saw a growth of 4.3 per cent, while Africa traffic grew 4.3 per cent.

While airlines in mature markets of the US and Europe are feeling the impact of slowing economies and tight credit conditions, leading Gulf-based carriers remain bullish on growth.

Emirates announced a record profit of Dh5 billion on Wednesday for the April-March financial year.

The airline has a similar profit target for the 2008-09 year, and is aiming for five per cent higher load factor despite rising fuel costs.