Worlwide Air Travel Grew in July, IATA Reports

Worlwide air travel grew in July, IATA reports

Passenger traffic worldwide grew in July, with premium travel climbing 13.8 percent and economic travel by 8.8 percent compared to the same period a year ago, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) reported on Wednesday.

“The number of passengers measured by flight segment continued to expand strongly in July. Passengers travelling in first and business class seats on international markets rose by 13.8 percent from the level seen the previous year,” said the Premium Traffic Monitor of the industry association.

The IATA report says that June and July premium travel exceeded 10 percent of annual increase over the same period in the corresponding year.

“This is an annualized pace of expansion of more than 10 percent. Clearly business travel still has considerable momentum, despite the economic uncertainties in Western economies,” the report said.

IATA said that business rather than leisure travel was dominant and that confidence in the industry is growing.

The reports adds that, “In July, growth in both seat classes continued to be driven by business travel rather than leisure. Indicators such as world trade and business confidence eased in July but remain positive.”

IATA said that air traffic from Asia and the Middle East posted double digit growth, and that emerging economies have been lifting the airline industry.

“The pattern was driven by divergent local economic conditions, stronger in the emerging economies compared to the Western economies. Routes linked to Asia and Middle East continued to show strong double digit growth rates,” the IATA report said.

Posted by Sophia Andrews on Thursday September 16 2010, 11:23 AM EST. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Travel. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0