As Asia Weakens, Transatlantic Airline Routes Become Even More Important

IATA's latest Premium Traffic Monitor reporting on airline performance through November of 2015, reveals ongoing strength in transatlantic routes but warn of a "notable deceleration" in First and Business class passenger demand, in large part driven by poor performance on routes to the Far East due to negative economic conditions in China. "The lagged impact of weakness in world trade and industrial production in late 2014 was apparent in the sluggish growth trend for premium travel at the start of 2015," IATA states. "Improvements in advanced economies, particularly in Europe, started to revive the trend in international air travel (both travel classes) toward the end of Q1 2015. "These positive developments remain intact, but the deepening weakness in the Chinese economy is now raising concerns that the positive trend may be coming to a halt." [caption id="attachment_164255" align="aligncenter" width="600"] IATA Premium Traffic Monitor Through Nov 20