The positive figures were echoed by two aviation specialists. Olivier Jager, CEO of aviation data company ForwardKeys, said international air bookings had increased globally by 3% in the first 10 months of the year, based on bookings processed by the main GDS worldwide. International bookings were (as of 26th October) 2.5% higher in the final two months of the year. Ricky Mack, Director, Aviation Systems Analysis for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said world airline passenger travel is growing at around 5% so far this year, and is resilient, outperforming the belowaverage world economic growth. Load factors, so far, are slightly better than last year while fares were generally stable compared to 2012, he told the forum. Looking ahead, he predicted that emerging markets, led by China, India, Brazil and Russia, would drive passenger growth in the years ahead.