The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has said that recent figures suggest that the decline in people flying business and first class on airlines seems to be bottoming out.

Premium tickets make up the industry’s most lucrative sector, and IATA say that compared to last years figures the drop in sales for the sector was 21.3% against May’s figure of 23.6%.

Total numbers of passengers across the 230 carriers that IATA represents were down 7.1% in June compared with last year against a 9.1% drop in May.

IATA also said that since March the decline in numbers flying economy class seemed to be leveling out but points to the fact that up until recently these figures would have been artificially supported by the numbers of people moving to economy class from business.

The figures may point to an economy on the mend, but analysts are keen to point out that the aviation business is not out of the woods yet. Many airlines have been heavily discounting premium seats to keep hold of customers.

“The issue now is that this stabilization of passenger numbers is partly being achieved at the expense of much lower yields, as airlines seek to boost cash flow by making more cheaper seats available,” said the IATA. It also pointed out that after the recession airlines would have to start working hard on those who have moved to the back of the plane in order to get them to move forward again.