The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has said that it expects the business travel segment in fall in the coming months as global trade is facing a slowdown and business confidence is low.

"After signs of faster growth in the first half of this year, the expansion in premium travel has now clearly flattened out," IATA said.

The association found that there is a slowdown in global trade and a fall in exports and imports in Europe during the second quarter. This has impacted business travel figures as companies try to cut costs by avoiding expensive business class travel for executives.

IATA said that a rise in business travel in the beginning of the year was reverse due to a low business confidence. The total number of people buying first class tickets on international airlines has fallen 0.5 per cent in July compared to the same month in the previous year.

On the other hand, the number of people travelling in economy class has risen by 3 per cent during the month of July 2012 compared to July of 2011.