Global premium airline traffic in July dropped 14 percent versus a year earlier, according to the International Air Transport Association

. This marked the 14th consecutive month of declining first- and business-class volumes but the smallest drop-off recorded in 2009. "Premium travel on international markets, which is mostly for business, is closely correlated to world trade which bottomed out in May and started to turn up in June," according to IATA. "This improvement in cross-border trade is boosting business travel but demand is still very weak compared to the recent past. Moreover, there are no signs as yet that corporate travel buyers are willing to pay for the more flexible, full service and, for the airlines, higher-yielding premium seats."