Growth in premium international travel has been relatively slower due to weakness in business travel demand drivers, with global business confidence being dragged down by emerging markets.
Key points:
- Passenger travel on international markets was up 5.1% in September year-on-year, similar to the August 5.4% result. But the September rise is due to weakness in the year ago period, rather than growth over the month. Looking at the results by travel class, premium travel rose just 2.9% year-on-year, down from 5.3% in August, reflecting weakness on markets connected to the Far East;
- International passenger numbers continue to show a broadly positive trend for both economy and business travel classes in 2015, despite a fall in volumes in both travel classes in September compared to August. But economy class travel – the more price sensitive travel market – has experienced slightly stronger growth so far this year, supported by lower fares over recent months;
- Growth in premium international travel has been relatively slower due to weakness in business travel demand drivers, with global business confidence being dragged down by emerging markets;
- In both travel classes, growth has been supported by the Within Europe market during recent months, which includes segment traffic as part of longer haul journeys. Air travel across the North Atlantic has also started to accelerate, up 6.3% year-on-year, which is a good sign for yields and revenues;
- However, declines in air travel on the Within Far East market have placed downward pressure on the industry growth trend. Deteriorating economic performance of some key economies in the region is taking a toll on air travel demand;
- The outlook for international passenger growth remains mixed because the growth over recent months has been narrowly based, and supported mostly by the Within Europe and North Atlantic markets. Moreover, growth on other markets like the Within Far East has decelerated recently and, given continued weakness in business confidence and trade, the demand environment remains fragile.
IATA Premium Monitor September 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.
