The rise in demand for premium air travel slowed in January due to weakness in Europe, according to the latest figures from IATA.
The association said that while global premium traffic rose by 3.3 per cent in the first month of the year, this was down on the 4.5 per cent growth seen in December.
IATA said: “Weakness in the growth trend is not widespread though, it is largely isolated to markets connected to Europe.
“Premium travel within Europe contracted 0.5 per cent in January year-on-year and the North Atlantic market was flat.”
Growth for premium seats was driven by emerging markets “particularly those linked to Asia” while “current levels of business confidence point to moderate growth in the months ahead”.
However IATA warned: “With developing economies continuing to show weakness, downside risks for air travel demand remain a factor.”
Worldwide economy passengers also rose by 2.9 per cent in January although this was down on December’s increase of 4.2 per cent.