South Pacific flights to soar

Press, 7 July 1977, Page 7

South Pacific flights to soar

International passenger flights in the South Pacific are expected to increase by more than 50 per cent in the next five years. This prediction is contained in a report from the Internationa] Air Transport Association’s industry research division. It forecasts that although I.A.T.A. passenger traffic in the Pacific region will greatly increase by 1982, it will form less of the total world I.A.T.A. passenger traffic than now. At the beginning of this year Pacific flights formed 8.7 per cent of total passenger traffic. In five years this will have fallen to 8.2 per cent. One reason will be more flights between Europe, the Middle East, and the Far East. These will form nearly a quarter of total world traffic, growing by

an average 15 per cent annually. This compares with an average annual growth rate in the South Pacific of only 8 per cent. The Europe-Middle/Far East route will replace the North America-Northern Europe route as the most i frequently travelled.

There were many as- ■ sumptions made in calcu- j lating the rates of growth, i the report states. One of i them was that world econ- | omic growth in the next ; five years would be lower : than in previous years. ; Fares would follow in- I

flation, but could decrease ! in real terms. W o r 1 d-wide traffic : growth will be less than in the last six years, says the report. Increasing by only an average 7.9 per cent annually, compared with the previous 9.9 per cent.