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September 19, 2008

Trends - World-Wide First Class, Business Class Travel is Shrinking

Interesting: the International Air Transport Association (IATA) says there has been a world-wide decline in “premium travel” - first class and business class - and this is most likely the result of a drop-off in business travel because of the general economic downturn in the world (and thanks, Sky Talk, for the heads up). That’s not really so surprising, but the IATA did suggest that some of this “premium travel downturn” can be laid at the feet of failed institutions like Lehman Brothers, which has led to “a reduced number of business travelers from financial services”. According to the IATA statistics, world-wide premium travel demand fell 0.4% this past June, and then 1% this past July. Are passengers not upgrading anymore? is this a sign that frequent flyer programs are getting stale? Does this bode well for $10,000 cabins on the A380? — only time will tell — time wasn’t enough for Eos, Silverjet and Maxjet.