Premium class air travel continues decline

www.iata.org

In February, premium air travel fell globally for the ninth consecutive month as the economic downturn continued to impact passenger spending, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Passenger numbers in first- and business-class was down in February by 21.1 per cent as compared with the same month last year. The IATA said that the one extra day in February of 2008 led to a slight distortion in the comparison.

The decline in premium-class air travel was greater in February than in January, when it fell by 16.7 per cent, and in December, when it decreased by 13.3 per cent. The IATA has indicated, however, that over the next few months the decline may be approaching the bottom of the cycle.

“A very tentative sign that a floor to the decline in premium travel may be approaching was shown in the reduced decline on Europe-Far East markets,” the airline association said. The IATA represents 230 airlines accounting for 93 per cent of all scheduled air traffic world-wide.

In these markets, there was a drop off in premium air travel of 19.6 per cent in February, as compared with January’s 21 per cent year-on-year decrease.

According to the IATA, the financial performance of airlines will come under pressure for the first quarter of this year with declining revenues, which have been further impacted by many carriers reducing premium class fares since last November.

Thanks to online.wsj.com for the above quotes, for more information on this article please visit their website.

www.iata.org