The British Airways strategy of focussing on business and first class travellers, who per seat mile cause most carbon pollution, has back fired. British Airways has this week cut the price of business class flights - by up to 40% - following a fall of 13%  in first and business class traffic in March and an 18% fall in April.

Overall passenger numbers are also dropping IATA reports that premium passenger numbers were down 19.2% globally in the year to March 2009, while the drop in economy was 8.2%.