Jan global air passenger demand rises 10% YOY led by Asia-Pacific

Global air passenger demand, measured in revenue passenger kilometers, rose 10% year over year in January, marking the return of double-digit growth after seven months and providing a boost to jet fuel prices, the latest data from the International Air Transport Association showed.

On a month-over-month basis, total air passenger demand edged 0.6% higher in January.

International air passenger traffic climbed 12.4% year over year in January, while domestic market traffic rose 6.1% over the same period.

Driving the growth, IATA said, "Asia-Pacific carriers contributed to more than half of the net increase in industry total passenger traffic (56.6%), which is higher than what was previously observed. These carriers saw higher demand in both domestic and international segments in January."

Asia-Pacific carriers' international passenger air travel demand rose 21.8% year over year in January, followed by Africa at 14.9% and Latin America at 12.9%.

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed the FOB Singapore jet fuel/kerosene outright price at an average of $93.45/b in January, up from $87.81/b in December and $89.41/b in November.

On the supply front, total capacity, measured in available seat kilometers, rose 7.1% year over year and 1.2% month over month in January, pushing the passenger load factor 2.2 percentage points higher year over year to 82.1%.

"We have seen a notable acceleration in demand this January, with a particularly strong performance by carriers based in the Asia-Pacific region. The record-high load factors that accompany this strong demand are yet another reminder of the persistent supply chain issues in the aerospace sector," IATA Director General Willie Walsh said.

Meanwhile, global air cargo demand was up 3.2% year over year and 3.1% month over month in January. However, the cargo load factor fell 1.5% to a 17-month low of 43.9% over the same period, amid a 6.8% expansion in capacity.

"January marked 18 consecutive months of growth for air cargo, but the month's 3.2% year-over-year growth is a moderation from double-digit peaks in 2024," Walsh said.

"While external factors such as trade growth, declining fuel costs and expanding e-commerce remain positive for air cargo, it is important to closely watch the evolution of market conditions at this time. In particular, the wild card is the potential for tariff-driven trade policies from the US Trump administration," he added.