SINGAPORE--Asia was the fastest-growing market for air travel in
2012 and accounted for seven of the 10 busiest travel routes in the
world, according to a study by Amadeus IT Holding S.A. (AMS.MC)
released Tuesday.
Air travel in Asia grew 9% from a year earlier, followed by 6%
in Latin America, according to the study by Amadeus Air Traffic
Travel Intelligence. All major regions of the world reported a
growth in air traffic, with global traffic rising 5%, it added.
Asia was also the top market in terms of volumes, with 787
million passengers. Europe was next with 680 million, a growth of
4%, it said.
Seven of the 10 busiest routes were in Asia, according to the
report. Jeju-Seoul was the busiest in the world, with 10.2 million
passengers flying the route. Sapporo-Tokyo was second, with 8.2
million passengers, Amadeus said in a statement.
Asian economies have been most resilient to the economic
downturn and many of them have been growing at a fast clip even as
growth stalls in Europe and the U.S.
Middle class incomes are rising in Asia, fueling the growth of
budget airlines, many of which have witnessed explosive growth in
recent years.
According to the CAPA-Centre for Aviation, Indonesian budget
carrier Lion Air was the world's fastest-growing airline last
year.
Lion Air, which suffered a non-fatal crash of one of its Boeing
Co. (BA) 737 jets in Bali on Saturday, is currently the biggest
customer for both Boeing and Airbus, a unit of European Aeronautic
Defence & Space Co. (EADS), with more than 500 planes on
order.
Rival AirAsia Bhd. (5099.KU) of Malaysia is also expanding
rapidly, taking advantage of the rising number of first-time
travelers and tourist traffic in the region.
Still, low-cost carriers accounted for just 18.6% of the Asian
market in 2012, compared with 38% in Europe and 30.2% in North
America.
Write to Gaurav Raghuvanshi at
gaurav.raghuvanshi@dowjones.com
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