IATA: Europe RPK growth eases to 2.6% in Sep-2019 showing weakest outcome in 2019

IATA, in its Nov-2019 Europe regional briefing, reported (28-Nov-2019) RPK growth rate for European airlines eased to 2.6% year-on-year in Sep-2019, displaying the weakest outcome in 2019. The result was affected by slowing economic activity, faltering business confidence in many key European economies, the demise of a number of airlines and labour disputes. Annual growth in Russia's domestic RPKs eased further to 3.2%, corresponding with moderation in the underlying RPK trend observed since 4Q2018, however the recent easing of visa requirements is expected to provide some impetus for the period ahead. RPK growth was around 5% to 6% across larger international routes, representing a solid outcome for Europe-North America with RPK growth of 5.2% but underperformance for Within Europe which expanded by 8.3% in 2018. [more - original PR]