global premium airline traffic in March declined 19.2 percent

The International Air Transport Association said versus a year earlier, the tenth consecutive month of slowing global first- and business-class volumes. Premium volumes fell most on transpacific routes, down 29.2 percent, while transatlantic premium traffic retreated 16.8 percent. "Business confidence is improving and world trade appears to have bottomed but the travel data is consistent with the view that business expectations of recovery remain weak while consumers remain concerned about job security and their highly leveraged balanced sheets," according to IATA.