Asia Fastest-Growing, Busiest Air Travel Market in 2012

SINGAPORE--Asia was the fastest-growing market for air travel in 2012 and accounted for seven of the 10 busiest travel routes in the world, according to a study by Amadeus IT Holding S.A. (AMS.MC) released Tuesday.

Air travel in Asia grew 9% from a year earlier, followed by 6% in Latin America, according to the study by Amadeus Air Traffic Travel Intelligence. All major regions of the world reported a growth in air traffic, with global traffic rising 5%, it added.

Asia was also the top market in terms of volumes, with 787 million passengers. Europe was next with 680 million, a growth of 4%, it said.

Seven of the 10 busiest routes were in Asia, according to the report. Jeju-Seoul was the busiest in the world, with 10.2 million passengers flying the route. Sapporo-Tokyo was second, with 8.2 million passengers, Amadeus said in a statement.

Asian economies have been most resilient to the economic downturn and many of them have been growing at a fast clip even as growth stalls in Europe and the U.S.

Middle class incomes are rising in Asia, fueling the growth of budget airlines, many of which have witnessed explosive growth in recent years.

According to the CAPA-Centre for Aviation, Indonesian budget carrier Lion Air was the world's fastest-growing airline last year.

Lion Air, which suffered a non-fatal crash of one of its Boeing Co. (BA) 737 jets in Bali on Saturday, is currently the biggest customer for both Boeing and Airbus, a unit of European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. (EADS), with more than 500 planes on order.

Rival AirAsia Bhd. (5099.KU) of Malaysia is also expanding rapidly, taking advantage of the rising number of first-time travelers and tourist traffic in the region.

Still, low-cost carriers accounted for just 18.6% of the Asian market in 2012, compared with 38% in Europe and 30.2% in North America.

Write to Gaurav Raghuvanshi at [e-mail]

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