The Evolving Air Transport Industry

CHAPTER 1· THE EVOLVING AIR TRANSPORT INDUSTRY
Table 1.1 World airlines passenger and cargo traffic
Region Passengers Passengers (%) YTDGrowth
Africa 109,355,929
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2.7 6.6
Asia-PacHic 890,903,969 21.8 9.1
Europe 1,261,931,534 30.9 7.2
Latin America 248,393,399 6.1 8.8
Middle East 97,593,687 2.4 10.7
North America 1,476,311,133 36.1 1.8
Total 4,084,489,651 100.00% 5.7%
Region Cargo Cargo (%) YTDGrowth
Africa 1,437,612 1.9 10.3
Asia-Pacific 25,868,817 33.6 6.9
Europe 15,795,039 20.5 2.6
Latin America 3,564,103 4.6 0.4
Middle East 3,455,683 4.5 8.7
North America 26,857,094 34.9 -0.3
Total 76,978,348 100.0 3.2
Region Movements Movements (%) YTDGrowth
Africa 1,913,945 2.9 1.7
Asia-Pacific 8,290,312 12.5 6.9
Europe 17,787,273 26.8 3.3
Latin America 4,454,798 6.7 2.9
Middle East 973,146 1.5 7.6
North America 32,837,615 49.6 -1.5
Total
Source: Airports Council International.
I
66,257,089 100.0 1.3
Note: Data is based on the 12 months preceding and including May 2006.
the gap will continue to narrow on the basis of the impressive growth rates of 10.7 per
cent and 9.1 per cent in the Middle East and Asia-Pacific regions (experienced from May
2006). Airbus now forecasts that both Asia-Pacific and Europe will surpass North America
in terms of seats being flown (Airbus, 2006).
It is interesting to note that in terms of international passengers, both the Asia-Pacific
and Europe markets already surpass the United States (Table 1.2). Europe's dominance
in international air transportation is mainly a result of its historical ties to former colonial
countries and its relatively small geographical area. Because of this small area and
significant government support for other surface transportation (mainly railroads), most
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