The consulting team from American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) has released its “Air Monitor 2024” report, which forecasts marginal price rises and falls on regional and international travel routes compared to 2023.

While the 2024 trends are mixed, the broad outlook is for price stability in the year ahead. These trends factor in variables such as airline capacity, local inflation, foreign exchange and fuel surcharges.

Routes between Australia and Asia are expected to decrease 5.1 per cent for business class and 3.4 per cent for economy.

Airfares between Asia and Europe are expected to fall 4 per cent in business class and 3.4 per cent in economy.

North America is expected to see minor changes in fares – less than 1 per cent – within the region. Flights from North America to Europe are expected to increase by 0.3 per cent in business class, but drop 2.5 per cent in economy.

Flights within Europe are expected to rise around 1 per cent, with declines in prices between Europe and the Middle East (3.5 per cent drop in business class, and 2.8 per cent drop in economy) and South America (3.9 per cent drop in business class and 10.4 per cent drop in economy).

Flights within Asia should drop by 3 per cent for business class and 3.1 per cent for economy.

“While the expected softening of fare rises is good news for our customers, sourcing for corporate travel programs remains a challenging environment,” says Dan Beauchamp, head of consulting at Amex GBT.

“We are helping customers deploy smarter strategies as they navigate the changes and drive value for their organisations.

“I believe the ‘Air Monitor 2024’ report is a useful industry resource for gaining a better understanding of many factors influencing the air pricing landscape.”