Asia-Pacific airlines report rise in passengers in 2008, but see signs of slowdown

The Associated Press , Kuala Lumpur | Wed, 07/23/2008 12:16 PM | Headlines

Air travel in the Asia-Pacific region climbed 3.1 percent in the first half of 2008, but airlines
are seeing symptoms of a slowdown that point to troubled times ahead, an industry group said.

The Kuala Lumpur-based Association of Asia Pacific Airlines said in a statement late Tuesday that its 17 member carriers flew 72.2 million passengers between January and June, up from 70 million in the same period of last year.

The growth rate for the year-ago period was 4 percent.

The association's director general, Andrew Herdman, said that "astronomical" oil prices were pushing up the cost of travel and contributing to "clear signs of a general slowdown."

"Throughout the airline industry, the oil price shock has precipitated another major crisis, forcing tough decisions to cut routes and ... review staffing levels in anticipation of slower growth or declining demand," Herdman said in the statement.

He added that the air cargo market showed barely any growth in the first six months of 2008.

"We call upon our industry partners and governments to work together with us to address these challenges, through collective actions to increase efficiency and reduce unnecessary costs,"
Herdman said.

As a group, the association represents roughly one-fifth of global passenger traffic and one-third of global cargo traffic.

It represents regional airlines including Air New Zealand, Cathay Pacific Airways, China Airlines, Garuda Indonesia, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, Malaysia Airlines, Philippine Airlines, Qantas Airways, Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways International. (***)

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