GENEVA — Global passenger traffic results for ******** 2013 showed a moderation in the pace of recent demand growth, said IATA.

Total revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) rose 4.1% compared to ******** 2012. This was slower than the 6.5% year-over-year growth recorded in October.

In ******** capacity expanded by 6.1% which out-paced demand growth. This led to a 1.4 percentage point slip in the load factor to 76.3%.

Demand drivers such as consumer and business confidence, however, continue to improve. This suggests that growth may accelerate in the coming months.

“Demand growth hit a speed bump in ********. But with continued modest improvements in economic conditions the outlook remains positive,” said Tony Tyler, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

******** 2013 international passenger demand was up 4.8% compared to the year-ago period. Capacity rose 6.3% versus ******** 2012 and load factor dipped 1.0 percentage points to 75.5%. All regions except Africa recorded year-over-year increases in demand. However, compared to October, all regions reported slower demand growth for ********.

North American airlines saw demand rise 1.7% over the 2012 period. This was a slowdown on October growth, which was 3.6%. Capacity rose 4.7%, causing load factor to fall 2.2 percentage points to 77.5%. Recent economic indicators have shown a solid fourth quarter, despite the ********** of the U.S. government shutdown in October.