Last week, we announced an interesting air travel analysis from the market intelligence solution Amadeus Total Demand by airconomy, looking at growth in passenger demand between regions. Below you can see a chart of some of our findings.

I found it particularly interesting that air traffic between the US and Europe has remained basically flat since early 2009 despite economic recovery, whereas the strong air traffic growth in Asia continued, barely missing a beat. And that the Middle East is really emerging as a destination, not just an air travel hub

Are these air travel results what you would have expected? Do some of these air traffic growth patterns surprise you?

 How can you use this data to improve your air travel network?

The most straightforward approach to this data would be to look at markets with air traffic growth potential and assess opening new air travel routes in these areas, but there are many other creative ways to use the data. For example, you could identify possible feeder markets for an underperforming air travel route.

Let me explain that: let’s say you have an air travel route between Orlando and Bangkok which is not doing so well. Using Total Demand you could learn that passenger flow is very high between Kuala Lumpur and Orlando, and you could respond by increasing the air traffic frequency of your flights from Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur while running a marketing campaign in Malaysia to attract travellers to your Bangkok to Orlando flight.

In this analysis, we have looked at overall passengers carried from one region to another, but our market intelligence solution can also provide accurate information on every existing air travel city-pair worldwide!

So, I will be checking this information to plan my next holiday to an as yet “undiscovered” travel destination. Amadeus also selected the best infographics that highlight travel trends and insights into travel technology, don’t miss the whole series here: The Future of travel infographics 2011.

If you would like to compare this information with our 2012 analysis, please have a look at our new outlook for air traffic post.