According to an Agencies report, International Air Transport Association (IATA) has announced that the Asia-Pacific region has overtaken North America as the world's largest air travel market with 647 million passengers in 2009. By contrast, 638 million people flew on commercial flights in North America last year, IATA said at an aviation business conference on the eve of the Singapore Air show, which will be held from today till the 7th of this month, featuring the world's leading aviation industry players.
Within Asia, China has eclipsed Japan over the past decade as the region's largest domestic market, with 1,400 aircraft compared with Japan's 540 and 5.7 million weekly seats against 2.6 million in Japan. Giovanni Bisignani, Director General and CEO, IATA said that the Asia-Pacific market will continue to grow rapidly with an estimated 217 million additional air passengers a year in the region by 2013. “While we see dynamism and diversity within the region, the aspect of Asia-Pacific that excites me most is its potential. More than a quarter of the 2.2 billion people who flew last year, |