Premium air travel demand lost momentum in August, with passenger counts up by 2 percent year over year versus July's 8 percent growth rate,

according to the International Air Transport Association. "Premium travel has now fallen back to the levels of the fourth quarter of last year," IATA wrote in its most recent monthly report. "Although there was a significant rebound in premium travel after the 2008-09 recession, there has clearly been a structural shift, due to the severity of the recession, away from travel on business and first class seats towards economy. Forward-looking indicators for air travel, particularly travel on business, continue to point to a further slowdown in the months ahead." IATA noted that economy-class traffic in August grew by 4 percent year over year, compared with July's nearly 6 percent growth rate.