Global air passenger traffic demand up 8 percent in November: IATA

[January 11, 2018]  (Reuters) - Global demand for air travel climbed 8 percent in November, the fastest rate in five months, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Thursday.

IATA said that upward revenue passenger kilometer (RPK) trend has bolstered toward the end of 2017, pointing to a good start to the new year.

"We expect another year of above-trend passenger growth in 2018 as a whole, albeit at a slightly slower pace than seen in 2017", Alexandre de Juniac, IATA Director General, said.

"In sum, we begin the New Year with confidence," he said.

Capacity measured in available seat kilometers rose 6.3 percent, and load factor rose 1.2 percentage points to 80.2 percent, IATA said in its monthly traffic update.

(This story has been refiled to add dropped word in fourth paragraph)

(Reporting by Anna Serafin; Editing by Maria Sheahan)

[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.