AIA - August 2023 Monthly traffic update & September 2023 Preview

Friday 13th October 2023

29% increase year on year. In August 2023, total passenger volumes at Auckland Airport increased by 29% compared to August 2022 and were 87% of the August 2018 pre-COVID equivalent, the last full year not impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. International passengers (excl. transits) increased by 59% versus August 2022 and represent 85% of the August 2018 equivalent. Transit passengers were up 69% compared to August 2022, representing 78% of August 2018. Domestic passengers for August 2023 increased by 7% compared to August 2022 and represented 90% of August 2018 pre-COVID equivalent.

Key Points:

• Total passenger numbers reached 1.45m for August 2023, slightly down on the 1.48m passenger movements seen in July 2023 as August is a quieter off-peak season month;

• New Zealand passport holders accounted for 52% of all international passengers in the month, up significantly on August 2022 as the propensity to travel recovers. The largest growth in international passengers was from holders of passports from Asian countries, with Chinese, Indian and Japanese nationals significantly up on the prior year;

• Batik Air Malaysia commenced services between Auckland and Perth in August, offering one-stop flights to Kuala Lumpur. Qatar Airways re-commenced direct Auckland to Doha services, switching from indirect services via Adelaide, offering seamless one-stop connections to nearly 50 European destinations;

• Passengers on the domestic trunk network increased during the month by 7% on 14% more capacity. Capacity increases were focused on Auckland to Christchurch, Dunedin, and Wellington with capacity to Queenstown decreasing by 6% compared to August 2022. Regional domestic capacity also grew, increasing 7% on last year;

• Queenstown Airport international passenger numbers increased 29% on the year prior, and domestic passengers decreased 10% on the same month last year.

September 2023 Monthly Traffic Preview

26% increase year on year. For September 2023, total passenger volumes at Auckland Airport increased by 26% compared to September 2022 and were 90% of the September 2018 pre-COVID equivalent, the last full year not impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. International passengers (excl. transits) increased by 58% versus September 2022 and represent 91% of the September 2018 equivalent. Transit passengers were up 32% compared to September 2022, representing 70% of September 2018 equivalent. Domestic passengers for September 2023 increased by 4% compared to September 2022 and represented 91% of September 2018 pre-COVID equivalent.

Key Points:

• International passengers (excl. transits) continued to recover in the month reaching 91% of the pre-COVID equivalent, up on the 85% recovery in August 2023 and now exceeding the domestic passenger recovery of 90.8%;

• Strong inbound holiday demand drove the increase in international passengers with Australian school holidays commencing mid to late September and China’s mid-Autumn public holiday 29th and 30th September leading into the Golden Week (1st to 7th October). New Zealand outbound demand was robust with the school holidays starting on 22nd September;

• New Zealand nationals accounted for 55% of all international passengers during September and represents a 96% recovery relative to September 2018 (albeit partially due to the timing of the school holidays being earlier in the month this year). Australian passport holders accounted for 11% of all international passengers and a relative recovery of 92% and the third largest nationality was Chinese with a share of 7% and a recovery of 76%;

• Passenger volume on the Pacific Island routes recovered to the same levels as September 2018 with 118k passengers travelling, improving load factors by +4ppts. The Tasman route was most popular with 317k passengers, followed by Asia 213k and Americas 80k;

• Passengers on the domestic network increased by 4% compared to September 2022, with an average of 23k passengers traveling daily in the month;

• Queenstown Airport international passenger numbers increased 28% on the year prior and domestic passengers decreased 7% on the same month last year.

Please see attached PDF for full report.

August 2023 Monthly traffic update & September 2023 Preview

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