IATA's assessment of premium and economy travel in June.
Key points:
- Growth in the number of international air passengers slowed in June to 2.4%, with first half growth of 3.7%, compared to the same period last year;
- Most of this ‘year-on-year’ growth took place last year – since December, travel has expanded by just 0.7%;
- The travel slowdown has been caused by slower world trade growth and a dip in business confidence;
- However, business confidence has been rising in recent months, pointing to a stronger second half for travel;
- Travel on premium seats grew more slowly in June, at 1.8%, than economy travel, at 2.5%;
- However, the rising trend in the share of premium since late-2012 remains intact;
- Moreover, premium yields have been more robust so the premium revenue share has risen faster, to almost 29%;
- Premium yields have been supported by the relative strength of longer-haul markets, with the strongest growth of larger markets seen on the North Atlantic, Pacific and Europe-Far East;
- By contrast markets connected with emerging markets have generally been weak and some are getting weaker;
- Faster long-haul growth has meant that international RPKs are growing much faster than passenger numbers, at 5.5% versus 2.4% in June.
IATA Premium Traffic Monitor – June 2014
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
