The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced industry performance statistics for 2014 showing the growing demand for air transport. Asia Asia-Pacific has clearly established itself as the industry’s largest market.

In 2014 that was demonstrated by several measures:

• International traffic to, from and within the Asia-Pacific region represented 42% of total international revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs)
• Carriers registered in the Asia-Pacific region carried some 33% of total passengers
• The five busiest international and domestic city-pair air routes were all in the Asia-Pacific region

The information was reported in the recently released 59th Edition of the World Air Transport Statistics (WATS), the yearbook of the airline industry’s annual performance.

“Commercial aviation is a remarkable engine for economic activity. The growth of connectivity illustrates the point. A billion more people boarded aircraft last year than did a decade ago. Much of that growth has been in the Asia-Pacific region where expanding connectivity has gone hand-in-hand with economic opportunity. The industry’s 2014 performance shows aviation connectivity as a driving force in emerging economies and a critical component in the developed world,” said Tony Tyler, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

In 2014 airlines operated some 100,000 flights per day and transported 51.3 million tonnes of cargo, equivalent to around 35% of the total value of all goods traded internationally.

Highlights of the 2014 airline industry performance: