| September 2020 (% year-on-year) |
World share1 |
RPK |
ASK |
PLF (%-pt)2 |
PLF (level)3 |
| Total Market |
100.0% |
-72.8% |
-63.0% |
-21.8% |
60.1% |
| Africa |
2.1% |
-85.6% |
-72.4% |
-34.7% |
37.8% |
| Asia Pacific |
34.6% |
-63.5% |
-57.7% |
-11.0% |
69.2% |
| Europe |
26.8% |
-75.8% |
-64.3% |
-27.9% |
58.6% |
| Latin America |
5.1% |
-76.2% |
-72.4% |
-11.3% |
70.6% |
| Middle East |
9.1% |
-88.9% |
-77.2% |
-38.5% |
36.5% |
| North America |
22.3% |
-74.7% |
-60.0% |
-30.3% |
52.5% |
|
| 1% of industry RPKs in 2019 2Year-on-year change in load factor 3Load Factor Level |
International Passenger Markets
- European carriers’ September demand collapsed 82.5% versus a year ago, which was a setback compared to an 80.5% decline in August. Europe was the only region to see a deterioration in traffic compared to August, owing to renewed infections that led to a wave of border closings. Capacity contracted 70.7% and load factor fell by 35.1 percentage points to 51.8%.
- Asia-Pacific airlines’ September traffic sank 95.8% compared to the year-ago period, virtually unchanged from a 96.2% drop in August. The region continued to suffer from the steepest fall in traffic as flight restrictions have remained stringent with little re-opening of borders. Capacity plummeted 89.6% and load factor shrank 46.8 percentage points to 31.7%, the lowest among regions.
- Middle Eastern airlines posted a 90.2% traffic decline for September, improved from a 92.3% demand drop in August. Capacity tumbled 78.5%, and load factor sank 40.9 percentage points to 34.4%.
- North American carriers saw a 91.3% traffic decline in September, a slight improvement from a 92.0% decline in August. Capacity toppled 78.3%, and load factor dropped 49.8 percentage points to 33.4%.
- Latin American airlines faced a 92.2% demand drop in September, compared to the same month last year, versus a 93.4% decline in August versus August 2019. Capacity dived 87.9% and load factor dropped 29.3 percentage points to 53.3%, highest among the regions.
- African airlines’ traffic sank 88.5% in September, barely budged from an 88.7% drop in August. Capacity contracted 74.7%, and load factor fell 39.4 percentage points to 32.6%, which was the second lowest among regions.
|
Domestic Passenger Markets
|
| September 2020 (% year-on-year) |
World share1 |
RPK |
ASK |
PLF (%-pt)2 |
PLF (level)3 |
| Domestic |
36.2% |
-43.3% |
-33.3% |
-12.4% |
69.9% |
| Australia |
0.8% |
-88.7% |
-82.8% |
-28.3% |
54.1% |
| Brazil |
1.1% |
-55.3% |
-54.7% |
-1.1% |
80.7% |
| China P.R. |
9.8% |
-2.8% |
2.3% |
-4.2% |
79.4% |
| Japan |
1.1% |
-59.3% |
-45.6% |
-19.5% |
58.1% |
| Russian Fed. |
1.5% |
2.7% |
6.8% |
-3.3% |
82.4% |
| US |
14.0% |
-65.0% |
-49.3% |
-25.6% |
57.0% |
|
|
|
|
| 1% of industry RPKs in 2019 2Year-on-year change in load factor 3Load Factor Level |
- Australia’s domestic traffic was down 88.7% compared to September 2019 virtually unchanged from August (-88.8%), amid continuing strict containment measures.
- Brazil’s domestic traffic fell 55.3% in September, an 11.7 percentage point improvement compared to August.
The Bottom Line:
“Last week we provided analysis showing that the airline industry cannot slash costs fast enough to compensate for the collapse in passenger demand brought about by COVID-19 and government border closures and quarantines. Some 4.8 million aviation-sector jobs are imperiled, as are a total of 46 million people in the broader economy whose jobs are supported by aviation. To avoid this economic catastrophe, governments need to align on testing as a way to open borders and enable travel without quarantine; and provide further relief measures to sustain the industry through the dark winter ahead. A broader economic recovery is only possible through the connectivity provided by aviation,” said de Juniac. |
View the COVID-19 ‘Air travel slows in September, but cargo speeding up’ presentation (pdf)
View the full September Air Passenger Market Analysis (pdf) |
