Premium Seat Sales Eases as Air Travel Sinks in May

KUALA LUMPUR, July 17 (Bernama) -- Premium seat sales in total international air travel fell further in May to just over eight per cent as business confidence declined particularly in Europe. Revenue share of premium travel declined to 27 per cent, said the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Economics in a statement Monday. Compared to May last year, premium passenger numbers were up only 1.7 per cent versus a 5.8 per cent year-on-year comparison in April. IATA said the recent weakness in premium travel was dominated by routes linked to Europe, where business and consumer confidence is substantially down and where many economies are in recession. --BERNAMA