Loading
22-Sep-2010 12:20 PM

UK is slowest growth market in Europe: IATA

IATA announced in its revised market outlook for 2010, that the UK - Europe's largest air travel market - is "lagging" behind its peers in the US, Asia and even continental Europe, due to a weak economy and the impact of passenger taxes. IATA forecasts that airlines will collectively post a USD8.9 billion profit in 2010, however Europe is expected to post a loss of USD1.3 billion, with UK the weakest performer in Europe. IATA Chief Economist, Brian Pearce, stated he does not expect the UK market to "grow much at all" this year. The major British international airlines have been hampered this year by the ash cloud crisis, industrial action at three major carriers, continued sluggish economic growth at home and the threat/introduction of new taxes on the aviation industry. IATA predicts that demand would increase by 5% in 2011, which will create a discrepancy between supply and demand and put downward pressure on yields, particularly in the UK where easyJet and Ryanair will receive "streams" of new aircraft.

IATA: "We have not really seen much of a pick-up at all in passenger numbers, which is a reflection of the recession in Britain and perhaps higher travel costs because of air passenger duty." Brian Pearce, Chief Economist. Source: The Guardian, 21-Sep-2010.

Want More News Like This?

CAPA Membership provides access to all news and analysis on the site, along with access to many areas of our comprehensive databases and toolsets.
Find Out More