IATA's assessment of premium and economy travel in January.
Key points:
- International air travel performance in January was in line with the recent trend, up 3.7% year-on-year;
- Economy class travel drove the rise in volumes in January, up 3.8% year-on-year, helped by falling fares affecting this more price sensitive market;
- The growth trend in premium international passenger travel has flattened over the past several months. Premium international air travel volumes have not increased since August 2014. There was a weak 2.6% rise in premium travel in January year-on-year;
- This development reflects a lagged response to gradual slowdown in improvements in business confidence throughout H2 2014, with economic conditions in the Eurozone and China deteriorating;
- The within Europe travel market was particularly weak in January, up just 0.1% for premium class, and 1.8% for economy – notably slower than the trend in 2014, which average close to 4% overall.
- Longer-haul markets continue to perform relatively more strongly, including the Middle East to the Far East and Europe, which explains why international RPKs expanded at a much faster pace than passenger numbers;
- Latest data show there are signs of a pick-up in business confidence in the Eurozone and US, which could ease some of the downward pressure on business-related international air travel.
IATA Premium Monitor January 2015
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
