Outlook bleak on recession fears – AAPA

"Slowing economic growth is having a very serious impact on travel demand" - that is the verdict from the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA), reviewing the latest set of weak traffic data for Jul-08. Member airlines carried 12.6 million international passengers in Jul-08, 0.6% fewer than in the same month last year, although traffic measured in RPK terms grew slightly, up 0.8%. Traffic data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) for Asia Pacific airlines has been trending closely with the AAPA results and Jul-08 results are also expected to be weak.