British Airways, Europe's biggest airline, said today its premium traffic - top-paying first and business-class passengers - rose in August for the first time in nine months.
"Premium volumes have stabilised, but are however still significantly below levels seen previously," said BA, adding that demand for air travel was still very sensitive to price.
The airline also said the August statistics were distorted by the power blackout in North America last month.
The 4.8 per cent rise in total August passenger traffic, measured in revenue passenger kilometres, comprised a 1.1 per cent rise in premium traffic and a 5.3 per cent increase in non-premium traffic or economy class travellers, BA said.
Sluggish economies and thousands of bankers being cut in London and New York after the worst bear market in a generation have hurt demand for premium air travel. Full-service airlines rely heavily on first and business-class tickets for profits.
Shares in BA were up four per cent at 206 pence sterling shortly after BA released its traffic statement, off a high of 211 pence.
BA, which has slashed more than 11,000 jobs, chopped loss-making European routes and cut ticket prices in response to the industry downturn, said its August load factor was up 0.9 points at 77.4 per cent, compared with the same month last year.