Air passenger demand increased 7.1% year on year in September, an all-time high for the month, according to the latest data from IATA. The airline association says international demand was up 9.2% and domestic demand was up 3.7%. Total capacity rose 5.8%, and load factor gained one percentage point to reach 83.6%. Capacity growth was led by Asia-Pacific and Latin America, with increases of 17.7% and 13.9%, respectively, while in other regions there were single-digit rises in capacity. Asia-Pacific airlines saw the highest growth in international traffic at 18.5%, followed by Latin American and African carriers at 12.4% and 11.9%, respectively. European carriers recorded 7.6% growth in international demand. Middle Eastern carriers saw a 4.4% increase, while North American airlines had the slowest growth at 0.5%. IATA notes that all key markets showed stable growth in domestic demand, and all except Japan saw all-time highs for September domestic traffic. "We will soon face a capacity crunch in some regions, which threatens to curtail these economic and social benefits," states IATA director general Willie Walsh. "Governments will face a choice: lose out to more dynamic nations who value global connectivity, or forge a consensus for sustainable growth." IATA also released figures showing air freight rose by 9.4% in September, representing the 14th consecutive month of growth, IATA figures show. The airline association says capacity was increased by 6.4% overall and 8.1% for international operations. This was largely related to the growth in international belly capacity, which rose 10.3%, extending the trend of double-digit annual capacity growth to 41 consecutive months, it adds. Demand growth was highest in Latin America at 20.9%, followed by Asia-Pacific and Europe, both at 11.7%. Middle Eastern carriers saw 10.1% year-on-year demand growth. North American carriers recorded 3.8% growth, while African carriers had the lowest figure, at 1.7%. IATA notes that industrial production rose 1.6% while global goods trade increased 2.8% for a sixth consecutive month of growth. Monthly trade grew by 1.4%, the highest in seven months. Both the Purchasing Managers Index (PMIs) for global manufacturing output and the PMI for new export orders were below the 50-mark at 49.4 and 47.5, respectively, indicating contraction. The US headline inflation, based on the annual Consumer Price Index, declined by 0.2 percentage points to 2.4% in September, marking the seventh straight month of easing inflation, while the inflation rate in the EU fell by 0.3 percentage points to 2.1%. China's consumer inflation remained low at 0.4% in September amid concerns of an economic slowdown. "For longer-term trends, the air cargo world will be closely following the outcome of the US election for indications of how US trade policy will evolve," states IATA director general Willie Walsh.

Airbus has in its sights a target of approximately 770 total commercial aircraft delivered during full year 2024, an improvement on the 735 aircraft delivered in 2023. The European airframer's commercial division has delivered through the first nine months of this year 497 aircraft – comprising 45 A220s, 396 A320-family jets, 20 A330s and 36 A350s – leaving a gap of 273 aircraft to be delivered in the year's final three months. "[It's] an ambitious year-end rally ahead of us," Airbus chief executive Guillaume Faury admitted on 30 October during an earnings call. "We are struggling with more pragmatic issues as we speak now in 2024 for reaching the 770 [target]." He notes that "engines for narrowbody [aircraft], cabin and equipment and aerostructures continue to be what we call the pacing elements of our commercial ramp-up". Faury adds that Airbus is continuing to ramp up towards a production rate of 14 A220s per month by 2026, and 75 A320-family aircraft produced per month by 2027. He notes that the first A321XLR was delivered to Iberia on 29 October. "Iberia will soon be using this aircraft to connect Spain with the US East Coast," he says. "We are now looking forward also to see this new product entering into service and bringing its unique capabilities in terms of range, economics and environmental efficiency with a lot of other customers." He adds: "When it comes to widebodies, we delivered [during the first nine month of this year] 56, out of which 20 [were] A330neos and 36 [were] A350s. "We are now stabilising monthly production of the A330neo at around rate four. And on the A350 we continue to target rate 12 in 2028 as we are also actively managing specific supply-chain challenges that may have an impact on the ramp-up trajectory, in particular next year." Airbus's net commercial aircraft orders after cancellations through the first nine months of 2024 were down 48% year on year, to 648. The manufacturer's commercial division during the January-September period generated €32.8 billion ($35.6 billion) in revenue, up 4% year on year. It made a profit (EBIT) of €2.8 billion, up 25% Airbus in its entirety during the first nine months of 2024 made a profit (EBIT) of €2.7 billion, down 1% versus the previous year. It generated €44.5 billion in revenue, up 5%.

IATA is urging Thailand to strengthen investment in infrastructure, increase digitalisation and focus on sustainability as it predicts the country will experience annual passenger growth at a compound growth rate of nearly 4% out to 2043. The prediction of 3.88% annual growth over the next two decades was released as IATA opened its World Passenger Symposium in Bangkok. "Already demand has reached 88% of 2019 levels and we can expect the start of real growth from 2025. With world-class tourism assets and a growing regional business sector, Thailand is well positioned to become a top 15 global market for aviation in the next two decades," says IATAs regional vice-president for North Asia and Asia-Pacific, Xie Xingquan. To realise that growth, however, IATA states that upgrading and expanding Bangkok Suvarnabhumi airport will be critical, as well as other airport upgrades around the country. "A revised masterplan for Thailand's airport capacity is critical to delivering the economic benefits of aviation. This effort can be maximised with customer input. Consultation with airlines will ensure alignment with market developments for the timely delivery of functional and cost-effective infrastructure," adds Xie. He further notes that while the government explores policies to support sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production, it needs to keep in mind that airlines can only purchase SAF if it is available on the market. "There needs to be sufficient SAF supply before any mandate is introduced, with flexibility across the entire mandate period. Airlines must not be penalised if national targets for production are not met." Thailand's energy ministry is working on a draft national oil plan which is expected to cement an aim for 8% of jet fuel needs to be replaced by SAF by 2036. The country's first SAF plant which will rely on used cooking oil as a feedstock, is set to open in the first quarter of 2025.