Strong growth in air travel seen continuing in 2025
A sustained growth momentum in air travel is expected this year in the market-leading Asia-Pacific region, which includes the Philippines, as demand grew faster than the global average in 2024, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
IATA, in its recent report, noted that Asia-Pacific airlines registered a 16.9-percent growth in revenue passenger kilometer (RPK), which is deemed a key indicator of demand. RPK measures the number of kilometers traveled by a paying passenger.
The latest figure also rose quicker than the world’s full-year traffic growth in 2024 at 10.4 percent.
“[Last year], 2024, made it absolutely clear that people want to travel. With 10.4-percent demand growth, travel reached record numbers domestically and internationally,” IATA director general Willie Walsh said.
“On average, 83.5 percent of all seats on offer were filled—a new record high, partially attributable to the supply chain constraints that limited capacity growth,” he added.
The aviation sector has been grappling with the lack of spare parts, which has caused delays in aircraft maintenance. As such, some jets are left parked for a longer period of time, which means less units being operated for flights.
“Looking to 2025, there is every indication that demand for travel will continue to grow, albeit at a moderated pace of 8 percent that is more aligned with historical average,” Walsh added.
In total, the region accounted for a 33.5-percent share of the global market. The next biggest are Europe with 26.7 percent and North America with 22.9 percent.
Locally, the airlines have been beefing up their networks with new routes to take advantage of the growing demand.
Philippine Airlines, for example, is set to resume its flights to mainland China with the launch of its Manila-Beijing service by March 30.
The flag carrier started operating its flights between Manila and Cauayan, Isabela, this month. In December, the Lucio Tan-led airline relaunched its direct flights from Cebu to Osaka amid the increasing travel demand to Japan.
Cebu Pacific, meanwhile, flew its inaugural Manila-Sapporo flight this month. The Gokongwei-led airline has the biggest network of routes linking the country to Japan.
The low-cost carrier is projecting a passenger volume growth of about 20 percent this year after serving 24.5 million guests in 2024.
