Key points from IATA’s full report on premium and economy travel in May:
* May premium travel numbers were up just 1.7% on last year, compared to a 5.8% year-on-year comparison in April;
* The share of premium passengers in total international travel fell to just over 8% in May, with the revenue share down to 27%;
* Total travel is still expanding, with the number of passengers 5.1% up on May last year, but that growth is being sustained by economy rather than premium seat sales;
* Business travel has been adversely affected by the slowdown in world trade and the recent declines in business confidence – a further deterioration is likely in the next few months;
* This weakness is dominated by European markets. Within Europe and North/Mid Atlantic premium travel (34% of premium revenues) shrank further in May;
* However, markets elsewhere were strong, in particular within the Far East but also across the Pacific and on markets in S America, Africa and the Middle East;
* Clearly the industry impact of this differential growth will depend on the geographical exposure of each airline’s route network.
