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.