The Hindu Business Line : Airlines reduce operating loss in 2002: ICAO

SCHEDULED airlines of the 188 member-States of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) recorded a combined operating loss of 2.3 per cent on their revenues in 2002, a performance which was a shade better than an operating loss of 3.8 per cent recorded in 2001.

According to the ICAO Journal, the operating revenue of the airline companies of ICAO's 188 member States in 2002 has been tentatively pegged at $312,500 million, a 1.6 per cent rise over the operating revenue recorded in 2001. The operating expenses in 2002 touched $319,800 million, a marginal increase of 0.2 per cent over that the previous year.

According to the journal, the results were achieved in the first complete year of falling demand and increased security and insurance costs consequent to the events of September 11 but prior, however, to the full impact of the subsequent armed conflict in Iraq and the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in the Asia-Pacific region, both of which had a negative impact on the global air transport industry.

The net financial impact in 2002 — after taking into account the inclusion of non-operating expenses such as interest and subsidies and deduction of income taxes — has been estimated to be a loss of about 3.7 per cent of the operating revenue. This marked a marginal improvement over a loss of about 4.2 per cent of the operating revenue in 2001.

The overall global air traffic in 2002, as measured in tonne-km performed, showed an increase of two per cent over 2001. The international passenger traffic went up by one per cent even as the overall air passenger traffic in 2002 remained at about the same level as 2001.

Freight traffic improved by five per cent in 2002 over the previous year. Mail traffic, however, fell "substantially" for the second year in succession owing to, among other reasons, restrictions on the carriage of US mail on passenger aircraft for security reasons.

In 2002, the average passenger load factor on international services went up to 73 per cent from 70 per cent in 2001, due to a three per cent decline in the seat capacity on offer. Taking into account the passenger load factor on domestic routes, the overall passenger load factor went up from 69 per cent in 2001 to 71 per cent in 2002, according to the ICAO Journal.

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