At the same time, total airline revenues excluding surcharges rose by 17% year on year. But average yields fell by 10% in the same period.
EGSAC's membership has doubled since 2002, but the total tonnage and revenue generated for airline principals have quadrupled in the same period. The figures for 2006 are based on a straight comparison of the same companies' performance a year earlier, and are not distorted by growth in membership.
Says EGSAC Vice President Ton Smulders: 'With most of our members operating in very tough and highly-competitive market environments, we are extremely pleased with these figures. They demonstrate that our members are winning new carriers, selling more for those they already represent, and increasing their total share of their individual local markets.
'Sadly, it is clear that global yields continue to fall due to over-capacity and rate-dumping on many routes, although we have managed to minimize the impact on our principals to a figure that is well below the market average.'
EGSAC is currently processing a record number of new member applications, and carrier interest in representation deals covering multiple markets is on the increase. Concludes Smulders: 'The EGSAC alternative to multi-national groups is winning more and more support among GSSAs and airlines. More GSSAs than ever before are asking to join us, and carriers are clearly getting the message that we can already offer coverage in over 30 countries.'
