global premium airline traffic in September declined 8 percent

The International Air Transport Association said versus a year earlier, the fourth consecutive month of slowing global premium volumes. "The sharp fall in business travel coincided with a steep decline in the confidence of manufacturing businesses in Europe, Japan and the U.S.," according to IATA. The drop-off in financial-sector traffic contributed to a 2 percent decline in premium passengers across the North Atlantic, a market that had previously showed continued growth. Given worsening economic conditions in October, IATA expects "a further substantial decline in premium travel." Meanwhile, economy traffic in September dropped 4 percent, IATA said, with total global airline passenger numbers down 4.4 percent.