A Travel Leaders Corporate analysis of its business travel bookings find that clients traveling for international business paid approximately 1.6 percent less for the average airline ticket as compared to the first quarter of 2011. But while they spent slightly less, they traveled more miles in the first quarter of 2012.

“While the average cost of an international airline ticket declined year-over-year, we also found a decrease of 7.3 percent on the average cost per airline segment booked,” said David Holyoke, Travel Leaders Corporate president. “This certainly bucks conventional wisdom, which would suggest that ticket prices may have increased due to rising jet fuel and other mitigating factors. However, with a somewhat softening demand in the market and economic uncertainty in Europe resulting in more affordable airfares, we’ve pleasantly surprised our clients with added value as they’re traveling internationally for business.”

While the cost of airfare to Europe, in most cases, decreased among Travel Leaders Corporate clients, airfare to some of the most frequently booked business travel destinations in Asia increased. During the same time period, the U.S. domestic market showed signs of strength. In analyzing data from a sample of nearly 2 million business travel bookings, Travel Leaders Corporate’s clients spent slightly more on the average domestic airline ticket in the first quarter of 2012 as compared to the first quarter of 2011, reflective of industry and economic trends.