Geneva – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has released the latest edition of the World Air Transport Statistics (WATS), providing comprehensive statistical data through to 2025.
Updated annually, WATS provides data related to demand, supply, and operational performance. WATS also includes data collections on the global airline fleet, top routes, employment, and financial performance (costs and revenues).
WATS incorporates data from the 1,315 airlines in the IATA Annual Statistics collection, including more than 250 international airlines providing specific data contributions to WATS.
Insights from WATS
Premium-Class Travel Shows Strong Growth
In 2025, the number of international premium-class passengers—business and first class—reached 109.7 million, up 4.5% year-on-year. This accounted for 5.5% of all international travelers.
Latin America saw the largest jump in premium-class passengers, rising 22.1% to 4.0 million. Europe remained the biggest market for premium travel, with 39.7 million passengers in 2025. However, North America (10.4%) and the Middle East (9.5%) accounted for the highest shares of premium-class passengers as a proportion of total passenger numbers.
Regional Passenger Traffic Growth and 2025 Passengers Numbers by Cabin Class (....)