Plane travel stays strong in October

Plane travel continued to enjoy success in October as an increasing number of people jetted off to various locations around the globe, new figures reveal.

Statistics from the Association of European Airlines (AEA), a group which counts British Airways and bmi among its members, show that October brought an increase of 4.9 per cent in passenger numbers.

The group said that key indicators are in line with trends for the year to date and traffic is set to hit an annual rate of increase of five per cent by the end of 2007.

Among particular portions of the aviation industry, cross-border European flights proved particularly popular in October, with a passenger increase of 7.5 per cent.

The North Atlantic market saw numbers rise by 5.9 per cent, which was "uncharacteristically buoyant", according to the AEA, while the Far East saw growth slip slightly to 1.3 per cent.

Traffic also fell slightly in the South Atlantic, but both this region and the Far East remained on track to achieve their respective passenger targets for the end of the year, the AEA said.

Pressure being put on airlines to improve the efficiency of their businesses appears to be paying off, as AEA members filled their planes to a record 78.1 per cent of capacity in October.