The number of international airline passengers flying in premium classes in February rose 4.1 percent year over year,

the smallest growth rate since September 2013, according to the International Air Transport Association. On North Atlantic and intra-North America routes, the increases were 3.8 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively, both down compared to growth reported for January. Regarding the North Atlantic, IATA noted performance "is consistent with improving business conditions in the U.S. and Europe," and added that "momentum in advanced economies has helped negate some of the slowdown in emerging market growth seen over recent months." Overall, the association said the outlook for premium travel "is broadly positive," although March data indicates that global economic growth has slowed.