The latest Airline Business Confidence Index from the International Air Transport Association has indicated carriers in Asia are more optimistic of a stabilisation of profitability over the next twelve months, compared with their counterparts in Europe and North America. The report noted that air cargo demand and yields continued to suffer in the last quarter of 2009, but “recent traffic results indicate that a floor may have been reached during the first half of the year with international FTKs bottoming out at around -20 per cent,” IATA said. Expectations for cargo volumes over the next 12 months have swung from negative in April to a net positive in this survey, reflecting expectations of a world trade recovery, while passenger markets have deteriorated further since the last survey with only a smaller net balance expecting improvement over the coming year. “Looking forward, the proportion of negative cargo responses moderated to just under one-third, and now more than half now expect an increase in demand over the 12 months ahead,” IATA said. “Airlines in Asia, with a heavy exposure to the cargo market, now expect an improvement in demand with 86 per cent of respondents from that region in the affirmative.”