Premium class air traveler numbers decline - Cheap Travel Insurance,Travel Airport News

Airport news for Cheap Travel Insurance,Travel on 20/10/2008.

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"Business travel is a key driver of long-haul and network airline profitability, so the fall in volumes is a major concern for financial performance," a recent report by the International Air Transport Association stated. The report also said that with increases in airfares, carriers have seen a rise in revenue, even with the drop in passenger numbers.

The IATA report showed that August was the third month in a row having a decline in premium-class passenger. For the first six months of the year, however, premium-class passenger traffic showed an increase of 1.5 percent.

Most air passengers who purchase premium-class tickets are business travelers, and tend to be "highly sensitive to the economic cycle and to activity in key industries such as financial services," according to the IATA report.

There was also a small decline in economy-class passenger traffic in August – of 0.2 percent.

Asia is seeing the weakest premium-class travel demand, as are markets that have business connections with Asia. As the report indicates, Asia is an area "where both economic and travel growth had been expected to remain relatively robust."

A route not experiencing the same drop in demand was the North Atlantic, on which premium-class and economy-class traffic grew by 4.1 percent during August.

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