ASIA PACIFIC air carriers cargo volumes fell in April after growth stopped in March, according to the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA).

    "Air cargo demand was soft in April, falling two per cent in FTK [freight tonne miles] terms," said AAPA director general Andrew Herdman.

    The AAPA said this reflected the lingering effects of the Japanese earthquake. There was also a 2.1 per cent increase in available freight capacity in April, which meant the average international freight load factor for the month declined by 2.9 percentage points to 68.5 per cent - a further deterioration after a decline of 3.2 points in March when the load factor stood at 70.4 per cent.

    "International freight traffic matched last year's levels. Growth rates so far this year have been modest, and are likely to remain subdued in the second quarter as a result of the after-effects of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, but will hopefully pick up again in the second half of the year," said Mr Herdman.

    "Despite recent events, the global economic outlook still remains broadly positive. However, with demand currently falling short of planned capacity growth, and sharply higher fuel costs as a result of persistently high oil prices, airlines are facing further pressure on already thin margins, reiterating the need to strictly control costs throughout the business."

    AAPA carriers include All Nippon Airways, Asiana Airlines, Cathay Pacific-Dragonair, China Airlines, EVA Airways, Garuda Indonesia, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, Malaysia Airlines, Philippine Airlines, Royal Brunei Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways and Vietnam Airlines.

 (Source:http://www.schednet.com)