– More positive news on travel in February with an increase in business passengers boosting the proportion of premium ticket sales, the fourth consecutive month of improvement since the low-point last October;
– Premium travel expanded 6.3% in February compared to the same month a year ago;
– Economy class travel also increased in February, by 8.9% from a year ago, well above the January result of 6.1%;
– However, the year-on-year increases were given a one-off boost of several percentage points – from the Arab Spring a year ago, Chinese New Year in January, and Carnival and the Leap Year in February;
– The seasonally adjusted trend shows premium traffic picking up significantly over the last 3 months, increasing at an annualized rate of 5%, after experiencing no growth between May and September 2011.
– The trend in economy class travel has been the reverse, with growth slowing to an annualized rate of 1% over the last 5 months;
– Economic indicators suggest that the performance of premium markets is once more being supported by improvements in the business environment – with both trade activity and business confidence increasing in recent months;
– However, the continuing weakness in European economies remains a downside risk to air travel markets in the months ahead, as is the threat of increasing oil prices.
Source: IATA Economics
