Corporate travelers slowly are making their way back to the front of the plane after a year marred by deep declines in first and business class travel volumes, according to new American Express corporate client data.
Since premium class utilization hit a low in the second quarter of 2009—when only 36 percent of tickets sold were in first or business class cabins—premium tickets have climbed quarter over quarter and, for the last three months of 2009, 42 percent of American Express client tickets were for premium class travel.
Still below a recent high of 49 percent in the third quarter of 2008, American Express said those climbing numbers show that "travelers are coming back to the road, and there is slight movement to the front of the plane."
American Express' corporate client data is the latest in a number of indicators that the corporate travel market is slowly improving, including recent International Air Transport Association global traffic data showing the first year-over-year premium passenger increase since May 2008
(BTNonline, Feb. 16) and commentary from airline executives on an improving business travel environment
(BTNonline, Jan. 29).