Though recovering from
last year's lows, premium traffic growth on the North Atlantic continues to lag
other international premium markets, the International Air Transport
Association reported in July data released on Wednesday, citing "weak
economic conditions in Europe."
First and business class
traffic on the North Atlantic grew by 5.9 percent in July, compared with the
same period in 2009, while the number of international first and business class
passengers worldwide grew by 13.8 percent.
"The geographical
growth pattern seen so far this year remains in July and continues to be driven
by divergent local economic conditions, stronger in the Eastern emerging
countries compared to the Western economies," IATA reported, noting
particular weakness in Western Europe, where GDPs are expected to grow only
modestly this year. "The end of the fiscal stimulus package in most
European economies and the need to reduce budget deficits will act as headwinds
to faster economic growth and may hamper business and economy travel growth,"
IATA reported.