Slight Gains in Premium Traffic in August

(MoneyWatch)  The trend toward improving premium traffic numbers continued in August, according to IATA's premium traffic monitor, but we still have a long way to go before things start to look "good" for everyone.

August's premium traffic was down 12 percent. That's slightly better than the 14.1 percent drop in July. Remember, I was happy about that one, so this is good news. Fares also saw less of a drop in August - down 18 percent. You'll recall that fares were down 23 percent in July.

So does this mean we're out of the woods? Far from it. The year-over-year comparisons will start to look dramatically different from now on. Last September is when the numbers really began to fall of a cliff, so you would hope that the year-over-year comparisons would become significantly more favorable. But this is when we get into a more crucial period of time. Economy travel contributes significantly during the summer travel season, but once September hits, business travel takes over.

That's when the importance of solid premium cabin bookings and fares becomes more important. So consider this somewhat of an interim report. The September one will be much more interesting as a bellwether, despite the year-over-year noise.