Leisure air demand soars but US and business traffic falls

Global air traffic grew 8% year on year in April and international demand rose by almost 11%, according to latest data from airline association Iata.

But Iata reported “persistent weakness in the US” where domestic air traffic saw a third straight month of decline year on year despite North American carriers seeing a 5.4% increase in demand overall

The year-on-year comparisons are exaggerated by the movement of Easter and its higher volume of leisure traffic, with the holiday falling in March 2024 but in April this year.

However, Iata director general Willie Walsh insisted: “April was a positive month for travel. Growth strengthened, especially for international demand which saw record load factors for the month.”

Aside from US domestic traffic, all regions posted growth year on year in April.

Walsh noted: “The return of the transatlantic market to growth is particularly encouraging. But there are some signs of fragility of consumer and business confidence with continued weakness in the US domestic market and a sharp fall in North American premium class travel.”

Iata reported: “Most of the traffic gain for North American carriers came from international routes. [But] it was not enough to offset yet another contraction in the US domestic market.”

The association highlighted a 12.2% increase year on year in economy and premium economy traffic internationally in April, with these classes comprising more than 90% of all international traffic.

But first and business class traffic was down 4.2% year on year in the month, having also fallen in March.

Half of the world’s aviation regions recorded declines in premium traffic in the month, with North American airlines suffering the steepest contraction.

Iata noted: “Traffic in these classes [first and business] fell more than a quarter from last year, following a similar decline in March.”

However, Europe’s airlines “which hold the largest share of the international business segment” recorded a 1.4% increase in first and business class traffic year on year. 

The 10.8% rise in international demand in April was ahead of the 8.5% increase in capacity in the month.

Europe’s airlines saw an 8.3% increase in demand year on year in April, ahead of 6.6% growth in capacity.