British Airways’ latest traffic figures suggest rising fares and falling consumer spending are driving economy passengers out of the air.
BA carried 94,000 fewer passengers last month than in July 2007, with most of the lost traffic in the economy cabin where numbers were down more than 4% year on year.
A spokesman for the carrier said: “Non-premium bookings remain most sensitive to price changes.”
BA services in Europe averaged little more than two-thirds full last month. However, long-haul business-class traffic appears to be holding up, with numbers broadly flat.
The airline will reduce services by more than 3% from October. Full details are due out later this week.