Numbers jump by 18.7 percent

After rising a mere 1.1 percent in April due to massive flight cancellations caused by an Icelandic volcano’s ash cloud, international premium-cabin airline travel shot upwards again in May compared to the same month a year earlier. According to the latest report from the International Air Transport Association, the number of first class and business class travelers on international routes during May jumped by 18.7 percent over May 2009. The volume of global economy class travel rose by 10.2 percent for the month, IATA said. For the first five months of 2010, the organization reported, premium-cabin passenger traffic, mainly comprised of business travelers, posted a cumulative increase of 10.8 percent vs. the same period a year ago. The biggest jump in international business-class travel was on intra-European routes, up 23 percent for May year-over-year. On transpacific routes, IATA said, the May gains were more than 20 percent year-over-year. Premium traffic increased more than 10 percent on Middle Eastern routes, while it rose 7.8 percent on transatlantic services, IATA reported. In spite of the recent gains, “such was the depth of the fall of the premium segment, current levels are still 10 percent below pre-recession peaks, whereas economy travel is now 5 percent above its pre-recession levels,” IATA said.