Business Travel Tips

According to a report by International Air Transport Association (IATA), global first class and business class traffic in March was down 3.9 per cent from the same month the prior year, the biggest monthly decline since 2003.

This Premium traffic, was down 5.2 per cent within North America and 10.7 per cent down within Europe for the year through March from the same period last year.

An opposite trend was noticed for Middle East, Far East and Africa.

According to IATA, the decline reflected a sharp slowdown in financial sector activity and a weakening U.S. economy.
“Given the importance of premium passengers for airline profitability, the absolute decline in numbers is bad news, particularly since the price of jet fuel rose 70 per cent over the year to March,” said the IATA report. (source)