A moderation in the pace of recent growth in passenger demand for global flights came in November, according to the latest figures from Iata.
Total revenue passenger kilometres rose 4.1% over November 2012 but this was slower than the 6.5% year-over-year growth recorded in October.
Capacity expanded by 6.1% in the month to out-pace the growth in demand. This led to a 1.4 percentage point slip in the load factor to 76.3%.
Modest economic improvements and rising consumer and business confidence are supporting the growth in demand in Europe.
Overall demand drivers such as consumer and business confidence continue to improve, suggesting that growth may accelerate in the coming months, Iata said.
Director general and chief executive Tony Tyler (pictured) said: “Demand growth hit a speed bump in November. But with continued modest improvements in economic conditions the outlook remains positive.”
But he hit out at US plans to raise passengers taxes just ahead of the 100th anniversary of the first commercial airline flight on January 1.
“It is ironic that in the United States – the country that gave birth to this amazing industry – political leaders in Washington agreed to raise taxes on air travellers to close the budget gap just a few days before we celebrated this momentous anniversary,” Tyler said.
“How much better would it be if instead of seeing aviation and air travellers as easy targets for $12.6 billion in new taxes, they shared in the vision that guided the pioneers who created this industry.”