A new travel report shows diverging airfare trends for the fourth quarter, with economy-class intercontinental fares weakening even as rising corporate travel demand continues to support business-class prices.

The report by Consultancy Advito projects that average fourth-quarter economy-class intercontinental fares will decline year over year across all global regions except Asia.

The consultancy’s quarterly Travel Price Index highlights a 3 per cent drop in North America and a 5 per cent decline in Europe, trends it attributes to ongoing geopolitical uncertainty and a slowing global economy, according to Business Travel News.

In contrast, the report forecasts that average business-class intercontinental fares will rise year over year in nearly all global regions, with the exceptions of Latin America and North America, where fares are each projected to fall by 1 per cent.

“The gradual recovery of corporate travel combined with the attraction for premium cabin options helps maintain fares at a high level in business cabin,” according to Advito, the consulting subsidiary of travel management company BCD Travel.

According to the report, Advito said it used predictive analytics to estimate airfare trends, analysing fare availability in global distribution systems with a focus on October travel prices.

The firm also forecasts a 1 per cent increase in the overall fourth-quarter average global hotel rate compared with last year.

This figure it said is led by a 6 per cent rise in Europe, while North American rates are expected to show minimal change.

“The increase in business travel demand is driving more moderate/strong cost increases in many markets,” Advito stated.