Strong increase in premium air traffic in the Mid-Atlantic
Air traffic in premium classes recorded a 12.6% increase on Mid-Atlantic routes during 2014, well above the global average, which was 3.4%, according to data collected by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
The market that increased the most at the end of last year in the superior flight categories was the Middle Atlantic, followed by the routes Africa-Middle East (10.5%), Middle East-Far East (10.1%) and Europe-Middle East (+8.1%).
With regard to economy class, the largest increase in 2014 as a whole was accounted for by Middle East-Far East (9.3%), followed by routes between North America and South America (8.3%) and between Africa and the Middle East (7%).
In contrast, routes between Africa-Far East (-3.7%) and South Pacific (-2.3%) and Europe-Africa (-1%) decreased in the number of first-class passengers, while those between North America and South America remained virtually unchanged (0.1%). In the case of economy classes, &Africa-Far East connections fell by 4.8%.
IATA highlights a decline in destinations such as Thailand -- which suffered a coup d'état in May -- and Malaysia -- affected by two plane crashes --, whose region as a whole added 1.4% more passengers, in addition to the slower economic growth in China.