global premium airline traffic in December declined 13.3 percent versus a year earlier

The International Air Transport Association said , the seventh consecutive month of slowing global premium volumes. For full-year 2008, premium ticket sales dropped 2.8 percent versus 2007. IATA cited "the abrupt decline in business activity and international trade across the world," and suggested that "the bottom has not yet been reached for air travel and even weaker numbers may become evident in the first few months of this year."