IATA: industry sees positive growth rate for premium travel in December
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February 16, 2010





The International Air Transport Association said that the number of business class passengers was 1.7% higher in December compared with December of last year, marking the first positive year-on-year growth rate for premium travel since May 2008.

“[Last year] was a year of two very distinct halves, with the final stages of severe recession impacting the first half and then the post-recession upturn in the second half,” the report said.

May of last year marked the low point for premium travel, when numbers were down 25%from early 2008 levels. Since then, premium passenger numbers have risen 11%, but by December were still 17% below the size of the market in early 2008, IATA said.

As a result, premium travel has lost six years of growth, while economy travel has lost more than two years of growth, the report said.

Economy travel was 5% higher in December compared with the same time last year.

Quick! Let's get all the airlines to flood the market with excess seat capacity to manage this extraordinarily modest uptick!

So true.

Our guys are trying to really curb capacity. If the industry as a whole can do this, maybe our yields will go up. I know, who am I kidding, some airline will flood the market.

Sounds great, but we would have to pay leave payments to AA/BA for the route and they can take it back in 10 years, not sure if its worth it. Having a Boston base would be nice though.

The DOT will help flood the market by giving DAL's and US AIR's slots away to another start up.

Maybe they will take more slots and give them to underprivileged carriers like Virgin America, and help Skybus restart.

I keed I keed

Call the undertaker this post has died!

No, not died, just taken a well deserved break. Just give it a few days/weeks and there we be another 1000 posts.

FtB is flying, 80 is flying, Beer is drinking beer, Super is playing with his GTO :D, and I am actually doing work. :D I know scary.

If you are bored: Here are some news headlines from Flightglobal.....

What's Hot
KLM 737 takes off from taxiway at Amsterdam Schiphol

No injuries in Mexicana Click Fokker 100 gear-up landing

Airborne Laser shoots down 1st ballistic target

Boeing expects decision on re-engined 737 this year

BA pushing for winglets on Rolls-powered 767 fleet

UK could use plutonium in space nuclear power demonstration

Not really, but the optimistic vibe that carried it has taken a rather severe hit. We commited the classic sin of (almost) ordering our manuals based on rumors.

Last time I saw it done, it was the UsAirways pilots trying to get Delta 777 books, but Manual Services couldn't find their employee numbers in the computer.

That's where the comparison ends, because there is no realistic explanation for what happened at DOT, and in Tokyo, except that we were out-lobbied, then duped by people in the government that were trying to out-corrupt each other.

So we definitely took a few hits. I just hope we don't turn the other cheek. Just as it is a mistake to underestimate AMR, it is a mistake to underestimate Delta. There is a bit of a target on our back, but we seem to do well when that happens. I think we even recently brought in a few thousand experts in trench warfare, some of whom just live for this stuff. Nothing unifies better than a common enemy. Or enemies.

I feel better already.