International passenger traffic up in August: IATA
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Passenger travel on international markets was up 5.4% in August year-on-year, reflecting strong growth on European routes, according to new data from IATA.
Both travel classes showed an above-trend rise in August year-on-year – premium travel was up 5.3% and economy travel rose 5.4%.
International passenger numbers continue to show a broadly positive trend for both economy and business travel classes in 2015. 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, IATA revealed the major contributor (about 40%) to the industry figure was a rise in international passenger numbers on the Within Europe market, which includes connecting segments of longer-haul travel.
Growth in premium travel across the North Atlantic has also started to accelerate, up 6.8% in August year-on-year, which is a good sign for yields and revenues, IATA said.
The strength of air travel activity within Europe was more than enough to offset weakness in other markets – most notably, within the Far East, where economic weakness looks to be taking a toll on demand.
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