This week in travel industry statistics saw mixed news in the air travel sector and signs of growth in London and Ireland.
Demand for Air Travel Decelerates in March
After a number of very strong months the International Air Transport Association (IATA) reports global passenger traffic results for March showed a moderation of the pace of growth in demand.
Total revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs) increased 3.1 percent compared to March 2013. Although this represented a slowdown in comparison to the February year-over-year traffic increase of 5.6 percent, cumulative traffic growth for the first quarter of 2014 was 5.6 percent, which is a slight improvement over the 5.2 percent overall growth achieved in 2013, IATA says.
Airline Profits Soar
At the same time, U.S. airline profits surged toward the end of 2013. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), airlines reported a net profit of $7.3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2013, up from a loss of $188 million in the fourth quarter of 2012.
Travelers Satisfied With Airport Security
Despite ongoing controversy, a majority of over 2,700 travelers surveyed by Travel Leaders Group (87.5%) indicate they are satisfied or neutral with today’s airport security measures, the group reports.
However, nearly 62 percent of those polled can’t identify whether the TSA PreCheck program has made any significant difference in wait times for security screenings.
London Breaks Visitor Record With Nearly 17 Million Arrivals
Nearly two years after the Olympics and Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee brought the eyes of the world to London, the appeal has clearly not faded: The city is reporting that it has welcomed more than 16 million international visitors in one year for the first time in history, making it one of the most popular travel destinations in the world.
Ireland Tourism on the Rise
Tourism to Ireland got off to a strong start in 2014. From January through March, the total number of trips to Ireland increased by 7.3 percent to 1,342,500 - an overall increase of 90,800 compared to the same period twelve months earlier.
Source: Central Statistics Office
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