Premium air traffic accelerates
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Demand for premium air travel experienced a strong start to the year, with the pace of growth accelerating in January 2014.
According to the latest data from IATA, the world’s airlines experienced a 6.1% increase in demand for first and business class seats during the first month of the year. This compared to a 4.2% rise seen last year, and a total overall air traffic increase of 5.7% (premium and economy) experienced in January 2014.
Premium air traffic is often considered a good indicator of economic confidence, and IATA’s data revealed strong performances in several global regions.
Premium travel within the Far East (+7.2%) continued its upward trend, while key markets like the North Atlantic (+5.0%) also accelerated. Strong premium travel growth was also seen on several emerging international routes, including between Africa and the Middle East (+15.5%), between the Middle East and Far East (+13.4%), between the Far East and Southwest Pacific (+10.7%) and between North and South America (+10.2%).
Interestingly, in terms of routes within or connecting to the Far East, the demand for premium traffic largely outpaced the growth in demand for economy class seats. The only exceptions were on routes between the Far East and Europe, where economy class traffic experienced a strong 7.3% jump, and between the Far East and Africa, where premium traffic slumped 6.2%.
And IATA said the outlook for premium travel is “broadly positive” for 2014.
“Global business confidence continues to signal economic growth; levels are the highest they have been since Q1 2011, but there has been little increase over recent months,” the association said. “Nonetheless, improvement in advanced economies should help sustain growth in premium travel in the months ahead.”
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