International business travel falls sharply: IATA ( XAL AMR DAL UAL LCC AF IAG ) (Christopher Hinton)

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- International business travel fell sharply at the end of August as corporations worried about future growth, the International Air Transport said Monday. "It is always hazardous to announce the start of a new trend on one month's data, but the decline in August is consistent with what we had been expecting for several months, based on the fall of world trade and the decline in business confidence," the trade group said in a statement. Premium passengers, represented primarily by business travelers, rose just 2.3% in August from a year ago, versus a 7.5% year-over-year climb in July. The month did benefit from an unexpectedly strong start, IATA said.