Middle Eastern carriers to witness downward pressure on yields: IATA

IATA Director General and CEO Giovanni Bisignani stated he estimates premium travel on most Middle Eastern markets has now recovered to pre-recession levels (Khaleej Times, 15-Feb-2011). He added the region's carriers will witness a downward pressure on yields, with capacity expected to growth at a faster pace than demand.

IATA: "Premium traffic on routes linked to the Middle East have largely been growing above the global average. Specifically the Middle East to Asia routes, which saw very strong growth of almost 24% for the first 10 months of 2010 - well above the global average of 9.2%. We estimate that premium travel on most Middle Eastern markets has now recovered to pre-recession levels, whereas international premium travel worldwide is still 12% below its pre-recession peak. The Middle East has been the fastest growing region for some time. Last year it led industry growth with a 21.5% expansion in demand outstripping the 15.8% increase in capacity, boosting load factors. This year, we are forecasting growth in demand to cool to 10.5% while the region adds capacity of 11.4%. Matching capacity to demand is a constant challenge. The region's carriers are clearly winning some market share along the way. And this growth is being supported by enormous investments in infrastructure in the range of USD100 billion," Giovanni Bisignani, CEO. Source: Khaleej Times, 15-Feb-2011.