Passenger travel on international markets was up 3.2% in November year-on-year, overall.
Key points:
- Passenger travel on international markets was up 3.2% in November year-on-year, overall;
- This is a slowdown on October, and although part of the weakness can be attributed to temporary factors, there are reasons for concern that a downtrend is developing;
- Both economy and premium travel weakened, but there was a notable deceleration in first and business class travel, up just 0.7%;
- Moreover, the latest data shows signs that a downtrend in international passenger numbers is developing;
- At the route-level, the weakness in air travel in November was mostly a result of the Europe-Far East market;
- The strikes at Lufthansa caused some downward impact on the year-on-year comparison;
- But further slowdown in the Chinese economy could be eroding demand, particularly for business-related air travel;
- The outlook for international passenger growth remains mixed because growth during the recent past has been narrowly based and supported by the Within Europe and North Atlantic markets;
- Weakness in other regions, like Asia, has become more of a concern with the November data showing signs of a downtrend developing.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
