International demand for air freight bounced back by 28 percent in January 2010 compared to the 2009 level, according to Internatonal Air Transport Association (IATA).

However, the January 2010 air freight volume was still 3 to 4 percent below the early 2008 peak level.
IATA noted that the sharp improvement in air freight, which accelerated to 3 in January compared to December, is being driven by businesses re-stocking depleted inventories.

This part of the inventory cycle will not last much longer. Durable air freight growth will require consumers to start buying again and businesses to return to making investments. While these improvements are beginning to be seen in Asia, Europe and North America lag behind, said IATA.

With an 11.6% improvement in January compared to the previous year, carriers in Europe stand out for their sluggish demand recovery. Freight volumes are only 7% above the December 2008 low and 15% below the cycle peak.

“We are starting to see some encouraging signs in demand, albeit with large differences among the regions. Unfortunately, the constraints of the archaic bilateral system limit airlines from being able to respond as normal businesses to market opportunities. Political borders limit opportunities for consolidation. And we still require governments to negotiate open markets,” said Bisignani.

Under the auspices of IATA’s Agenda for Freedom initiative, in November 2009, seven governments – Chile, Malaysia, Panama, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States and the European Commissions – signed a multilateral statement of policy principles focused on liberalization of the air transport industry.

Premised on maintaining a level playing field, the policy principles support liberalization of ownership, market access and pricing. Its latest impact can be seen in the recent signing of an open skies bilateral agreement between Panama and Colombia.

“With each open skies bilateral, we take a step in the right direction. Recovering from the years of lost growth as a result of this crisis is a long and hard journey. Governments should not make it any more difficult by maintaining policies that restrict airlines ability to do business,” said IATA secretary-general and CEO Giovanni Bisignani.