Airlines in the Asia-Pacific region once again carried the largest number of passengers systemwide. Asia-Pacific had a 37.1% market share (1.6 billion passengers, an increase of 9.2% compared to the region’s passengers in 2017).
Finding a spare seat in a crowded aircraft cabin became more challenging last year.
Latest figures from IATA show 4.4 billion passengers flew in 2018, up 6.9% over 2017, and representing an additional 284 million trips by air.
Those extra passengers helped to fill 81.9% of available seats.
Airlines in the Asia-Pacific region once again carried the largest number of passengers systemwide. Asia-Pacific had a 37.1% market share (1.6 billion passengers, an increase of 9.2% compared to the region’s passengers in 2017).
The good news is that fuel efficiency improved by more than 12% compared to 2010, and the real cost of air transport has more than halved over the last 20 years.
Connectivity has also improved. Some 22,000 city pairs are now connected by direct flights.
"Airlines are connecting more people and places than ever before. The freedom to fly is more accessible than ever. And our world is a more prosperous place as a result,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s director general and CEO.
"As with any human activity this comes with an environmental cost that airlines are committed to reducing. We understand that sustainability is essential to our licence to spread aviation's benefits."
The top five international/regional passenger airport-pairs were all within the Asia-Pacific region again this year:
1. Hong Kong - Taipei Taoyuan (5.4 million, down 0.4% from 2017)
2. Bangkok Suvarnabhumi - Hong Kong (3.4 million, increased 8.8% from 2017)
3. Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta - Singapore Changi (3.2 million, decreased 3.3% from 2017)
4. Seoul-Incheon - Osaka-Kansai (2.9 million, an increase of 16.5% from 2017)
5. Kuala Lumpur–International – Singapore Changi (2.8 million, up 2.1% from 2017)