Asian air traffic passes N. America's

The rise of Asia on the world economic stage is now being reflected on airport runways, as North America loses its traditional bragging rights to having the best-travelled population on the planet.
Demand for flights within Asia has outstripped the North American air sector for the first time, led by growth in China, and signs point to further expansion of the Asian aviation market.
There were 647 million air travellers in the intra-Asia market last year, surpassing the 638 million passengers within North America, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said Monday.
“While we see dynamism and diversity within the region, the aspect of Asia-Pacific that excites me most is its potential,” IATA director general Giovanni Bisignani said in a statement at the start of the Singapore Air Show.
“It is only the very beginning of the potential for this region. In the United States, there are three aircraft seats per year for each of the 300 million people who live there. China's population of 1.3 billion is served by only 0.3 seats per person and India's 1.1 billion population has only 0.1 seats available per person,” Mr. Bisignani said.
IATA is forecasting that 2010 will still be a rough year financially for global carriers, but Asian airlines are positioned to slash their losses faster than elsewhere. Asian carriers could see their losses decline to $700-million (U.S.) this year from a $3.4-billion loss in 2009, said the association, which represents about 230 international airlines.
Mr. Bisignani cautioned that Asian carriers will fail to reach their full potential unless restrictive aviation rules are relaxed to allow greater access in the region to more airlines.
02/02/10 The Globe and Mail, Canada

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Categories: Foreign Feb 2010, Indian Aviation- In General Feb 2010