{"id":204599,"date":"2025-08-04T12:04:23","date_gmt":"2025-08-04T10:04:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/?p=204599"},"modified":"2025-08-11T17:10:32","modified_gmt":"2025-08-11T15:10:32","slug":"iata-increase-in-premium-aircraft-classes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/en\/iata-increase-in-premium-aircraft-classes","title":{"rendered":"IATA confirms the irresistible surge in Premium air travel"},"content":{"rendered":"

Updated each year with data from over 240 international airlines<\/strong>the WATS report<\/a> of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) gives a clearer picture of developments in air transport. IATA analyses geographical factors, supply and demand, aircraft movements and product trends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report includes detailed breakdown of passenger traffic, available capacity, an overview of the world fleet and the main airport links<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, the report provides numerous indicators on the financial health of both the sector and individual airlines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strong growth in premium classes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of the main findings of this year's report is the growth in international travel in premium classes - business and first class. Passenger numbers in these classes have actually increased by 11.8 %<\/strong>. It thus exceeds the growth in economy class traffic, which stood at 11.5 %<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The total number of international passengers travelling in premium class in 2024 was 116.9 million<\/strong>or 6 %<\/strong> of all international passengers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The region Asia-Pacific<\/strong> recorded the strongest growth in percentage terms, with a 22.8 % increase in premium passengers<\/strong>. For a total of 21 million. <\/strong>However, this figure was exceeded by the growth in the number of economy class passengers. Economy classes in Asia <\/strong>were up by 28.6 %<\/strong> \u00e0 500.8 million<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growth in premium class travel has outstripped that of economy class in Europe<\/strong>in Latin America<\/strong>at Middle East<\/strong> and in North America<\/strong>. L'Europe<\/strong> remains the largest market for international travel in premium class, with 39.3 million<\/strong> of passengers. However Middle East<\/strong> that the proportion of premium travellers is the highest, representing 14.7 %<\/strong> of all passengers.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Hero\"\/
Growth by class of travel between 2023 and 2024 (Source: IATA)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Main air routes and aircraft used<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Asia-Pacific region crushes the ranking of the world's busiest air routes. Jeju-S\u00e9oul Kimpo (CJU-GMP)<\/strong> came out on top, with 13.2 million<\/strong> passengers by 2024. Of the top 10, only the Jeddah-Riyadh (JED-RUH)<\/strong> is not in the Asia-Pacific region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The road Bogota-Medellin (BOG-MDE)<\/strong> was the busiest inLatin America<\/strong> with 3.8 million<\/strong> of passengers. South Africa is the continent's most important route: Cape Town-Johannesburg (JNB-CPT)<\/strong> registered 3.3 million passengers<\/strong> in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visit North America,<\/strong> no surprise New York JFK-Los Angeles (JFK-LAX)<\/strong> with the highest number of visitors 2.2 million<\/strong> of passengers. While in Europe<\/strong>, Barcelona-Palma de Mallorca (BCN-PMI)<\/strong> is number 1 with 2 million <\/strong>of travellers. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Single-aisle aircraft from Boeing and Airbus were the most popular in 2024. The various models of Boeing 737<\/strong> have carried out 10 million<\/strong> flights, representing 2.4 billion available seat kilometres (ASK)<\/strong>. They are followed by theAirbus A320<\/strong> with 7.9 million<\/strong> thefts and 1.7 billion ASK<\/strong>. In third place comesAirbus A321<\/strong> with 3.4 million<\/strong> thefts and 1.1 billion ASK<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Country with the highest number of passengers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The United States<\/strong> remains the world's largest aviation market, with 876 million<\/strong> passengers in 2024, underpinned by a robust domestic market that grew by 5.2 %<\/strong> over one year. The China<\/strong> comes in second place with 741 million<\/strong> passengers, an increase of 18.7 %<\/strong> compared with 2023. A distant third is United Kingdom<\/strong> with 261 million<\/strong> air travellers, up 7,3%<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a>
The world's top six airline markets (Source: IATA)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n