Asia-Pacific air travel making rebound

Asia-Pacific air travel making rebound

Deutsche Presse-Agentur, Singapore

Air travel is making a solid rebound nearly one year after the
Sept. 11 terrorist attacks with carriers in the Asia-Pacific
region enjoying relatively blue skies, a newspaper survey of
travel agents showed on Monday.

Some agents in Singapore are reporting a hefty hike in demand
over the next few months, The Straits Times said, and a
significant number of travelers are taking to the skies on
Wednesday, the anniversary of the strikes in the United States.

Although the event was followed by a plunge in air travel for
six months, SA Tours said it recently witnessed a 60 percent hike
for bookings to the Americas while those to Europe have risen by
30 percent compared to March.

"Travel is one of the fundamental freedoms that we cherish and
I think a return to travel is a return to normalcy," assistant
general manager Alicia Seah was quoted as saying.

Leisure travelers are also not staying away from the Sept. 11
date, with many choosing to fly on Wednesday.

SA Tours has groups departing for South Korea, Australia,
Japan and China.

While airlines in the U.S. remain fragile, "airlines in the
Asia-Pacific seem to have bucked the downtrend, with most
escaping losses and some even reaping higher profits, aided by
lower fuel costs, resilient tourist traffic and strong recovery
in cargo shipments," the report said.

Singapore Airlines posted a better-than-expected net profit
for the year which ended March 31. Cathay Pacific reported last
month a seven percent rise in first-half profit.

The International Air Traffic Association estimates passenger
traffic for this year is likely to drop three percent from last
year, with the U.S. domestic market contributing most to the
fall.

International traffic is expected to rise one percent for the
year.