Page 25 - AAA JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2022 Online Magazine

strong,” he says. IATA is not the only agency the region posted an 8.8 percent increase in international demand
to forecast better days for the industry. compared to 2019 but international capacity was down 10 percent
According to global consultancy Deloitte, compared to the same month in 2019. African airlines saw interna-
Covid-19 vaccines are helping to clear a path tional demand grow 11.3 percent last year compared to 2019 and
toward normalisation of air travel. “Current a fall in international capacity of 14.6 percent. Growth in the was
macroeconomic trends suggest that demand mainly due to the strength of the Africa-Asia route. In December,
for small- and medium-sized aircraft will con- international demand grew by 7.6 percent in the region even if
tinue to recover to reach pre-Covid levels in international capacity fell 19.4 percent compared to December
2022, with aircraft manufacturers focused on 2019. Latin American carriers did not have a great year, reporting a
narrow-body aircraft being well positioned to decline in international demand of 15.2 percent last year compared
benefit from this buoyant demand,” it said in its to 2019 and a fall in capacity of 30.2 percent Capacity in the region
2022 aerospace and defence industry outlook. remained heavily constrained in December, down 26.1 percent on
“Merger and acquisition deals should remain pre-crisis levels.
strong in 2022 with innovation, technology
transformation, and geopolitical and regula- Walsh expects air cargo to continue performing strongly in 2022.
tory shifts driving robust deal-making across “…overall December cargo performance was assisted by additional
industry segments in commercial aerospace, belly-hold capacity as airlines accommodated an expected year-
defence and space, it added. end boost to travel. As shortages of labor and storage capacity
remain, governments must keep a sharp focus on supply chain
Once Again, A Lifesaver constraints to protect the economic recovery,” he says.
Cargo provided the aviation industry its bright-
est spot for the second consecutive year.
According to 2021 glob al air freight figures
released by IATA, demand for air cargo sur-
passed even pre-COVID-19 levels and recorded
the second biggest improvement in year-on-
year demand since 1990. Air cargo demand last
year was 6.9 percent more in 2021 compared
to 2019, and 18.7 percent compared to 2020.
Cargo capacity was not able to keep pace with
demand in 2021 and was 10.9 percent below
2019 levels. For carriers struggling with the
steep fall of passenger revenues, the high rates
that resulted from the lack of available capacity
and was a boon; in December last year, rates
were almost 150 percent above 2019 levels.

North America, the only region to record a
growth in capacity in 2021 compared to 2019, Meaning Business
was the busiest of all regions, posting a 20.2 Although smaller in size and scope than cargo, business aviation
percent increase in international demand in was as big a success story. According to WingX, a data research
2021 compared to 2019 and a growth in inter- and consulting company tracking the business aviation industry,
national capacity of 0.2 percent Carriers in the 2021 was the busiest year ever for the global business jet activity,
region ended the year on a high, registering an with as many as 3.3 million business jet flights happening in the year,
increase of 20.5 percent in international demand a seven percent increase over 2019. One of the major reasons for
in December. International capacity grew 6.2 the uptick in business aviation is the continuing impact of the pan-
percent compared to December 2019. While demic on global airline passenger traffic; more people are switching
Middle Eastern airlines reported an increase over to business travel to avoid exposure to new COVID variants.
in international demand of 10.6 percent in 2021
compared to 2019 and a fall in international Since business aviation demand rebounded in mid-2021, flights have
capacity of 10.1 percent, their counterparts in exceeded the same pre-pandemic period by 12 percent, according
Europe saw a 3.6 percent increase in interna- to WingX. The holiday period was especially busy; 127,000 busi-
tional demand last year compared to 2019 and ness jet flights took off around the world from Dec.20 to Jan. 2, a
a fall in capacity of 17.4 percent. 41 percent increase over the same period in 2019. The momentum
generated during the 2021 holiday season has carried into 2022
Asia-Pacific airlines reported a rise in interna- as well. Three weeks into January, global business aviation traffic
tional demand of 3.6 percent in 2021 compared had surpassed last January by 17 percent and was tracking 10%
to 2019 and a fall in international capacity of up versus January 2019. In comparison, scheduled passenger air-
17.1 percent. In December last year, airlines in lines had operated 29 percent more flights than in January 2021,

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