Asian airlines see tentative recovery

Asian airlines see tentative recovery    Preliminary traffic data released by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines for October indicates a recovery in air cargo demand remains unclear.
   The airline association said demand maintained the trend of 'slow but steady improvement,' with traffic 2.4 percent below the levels recorded in October 2008, the smallest shortfall so far this year. The average international cargo load factor in October rose by 4.2 percent to 69.1 percent, as carriers reduced capacity by 8.3 percent.
   “This period has been one of the most difficult and challenging for airlines in the history of aviation,' said Andrew Herdman, the association's director general. 'Airlines have been aggressively cutting costs but revenues have fallen even more sharply. As a result, Asian airlines as a group are expected to record another year of heavy losses, on top of the $4.8 billion of losses suffered in 2008. In recent months, we have seen some tentative signs of a recovery in traffic volumes, but yields have been severely depressed.'
   Asia-Pacific airline leaders 'have to steer a difficult course over the next year, both tightly managing costs and closely monitoring what still appears to be a fragile economic recovery. Airlines will also need to remain sharply focused on fuel prices, environmental commitments, and other regulatory challenges,” Herdman said.