global premium airline traffic in June declined 0.4 percent year-over-year

Measured by total first and business class passengers, , "continuing the deteriorating trend ... that began late last year," according to the International Air Transport Association. "Prospects are for further weakness in business and premium travel during the second half of this year, as economic growth continues to slow and key financial market activities such as M&A remain depressed." IATA said the "weakest premium market" was intra-Europe, showing a 7.8 percent drop "as business passengers continue to switch to the back of the aircraft, or onto economy-only services." Within North America, premium traffic edged downward 0.4 percent while premium traffic across the North Atlantic rose by 1.7 percent.