Global air travel demand will continue to grow during the balance of 2014, according to Advito, BCD Travel's Atlanta-based travel consulting unit, which last week released an update to its "2014 Industry Forecast."
"Global economic recovery is supporting this growth, but there remains regional variation in the strength of demand and in the airlines' response to it," the company said in a press release.
According to Advito's latest forecast, airfares are holding steady in North America due to "only slight growth in demand" and "little new capacity added." Specifically, it predicts that intercontinental business and economy fares will rise by 1 percent this year and economy fares by 2 percent, despite increased competition due to transcontinental expansion by JetBlue and Virgin America. Regional fares, it expects, will remain flat.
In Latin America, demand remains strong, Advito says, although fears of an economic slowdown are likely to slow momentum going forward. It forecasts that intercontinental fares in the region will grow 4 percent, that regional fares will grow 2 percent and that economy fares will grow 3 percent.
In Europe, Advito forecasts that low-cost carriers' pursuit of corporate travelers will keep regional business fares flat.
Finally, it predicts that "increasingly price-sensitive customers and an influx of low-cost carrier capacity" will lead to falling regional and intercontinental fares in Asia.