Advito, the consulting arm of BCD Travel, expects sustained premium cabin demand to keep fourth-quarter airfares elevated, according to its latest outlook reported by Business Travel News Europe.

The forecast matters for corporate travel buyers negotiating 2025 programmes. Premium demand has been the airline industry's most reliable pricing lever since the post-pandemic corporate travel recovery began, and Advito's projection signals that buyers should not count on relief in negotiated premium fares before the fourth quarter closes.

For sellers of travel, the implications run in two directions. Travel management companies and agencies selling premium cabins face clients pushing back on budgets, while airlines continue to hold pricing power in the front of the aircraft — the cabins that generate a disproportionate share of carrier revenue on long-haul routes.

The forecast frames a quarter in which corporate demand typically peaks before the holiday slowdown. If premium demand holds at the levels Advito anticipates, carriers have little incentive to discount business and premium economy fares, keeping yields firm on transatlantic and other key business corridors.

Buyers responding to the outlook have limited levers. Shifting demand to off-peak days, tightening advance-purchase policies, and reassessing premium economy versus business class allocations remain the standard tools. Suppliers, by contrast, retain the stronger hand in premium categories — a dynamic that has persisted across multiple quarters and now looks set to extend through year-end.

Advito's guidance is a projection rather than a measured result, and buyers should treat it as one input alongside airline capacity announcements and forward booking data as they finalise fourth-quarter travel budgets.

How long airlines can sustain premium pricing power depends on corporate demand holding firm; any softening in booking volumes late in the quarter would test carriers' willingness to keep front-cabin fares at current levels.