Luxury Air Travel: IATA Survey Shows Growth In Premium Travel Sector Between Latin America and U.S.

After a strong increase in August, growth in the premium air travel sector cooled, rising 3.3 percent since the end of the second quarter, compared with 8.6 percent year-to-year, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced in its report on the air transit industry’s growth for September 2013.

Overall, the outlook for air travel continues to improve as the business environment is flourishing, indicators of business confidence continue to grow, and the outlook for world trade growth is improving.

The reason for this: Premium travel markets are largely supported by business travel -- and world trade is a suitable proxy for business travel.

Major markets like the North Atlantic contributed to recent increases in passenger volume. The sector saw growth of 5.7 percent in August.

Growth rates associated with certain routes continue to exhibit the impact of seasonal factors, while some routes in the Middle East and Africa show weak growth or contraction in September.

Robust growth in South and Central American emerging markets sent the North American-South American routes up 9.8 percent in September year-to-year on demand for premium travel accommodations between the U.S., Canada and Mexico and nations like Colombia, Chile and Peru.