British Airways said this afternoon that first and business class traffic fell 17.7 per cent last month as its more lucrative customers cut back amid the recession.

Overall, the airline said total traffic for April rose by just 0.9 per cent, as market conditions continued to be “very challenging.”

Economy traffic rose 5.2 per cent, boosted by Easter falling during April this year instead of March, although the seasonal difference did mean fewer premium passengers. Its total load factor, a measure of how full its planes were, fell 2.6 per cent to 78.1 per cent. Cargo traffic was down 14.8 per cent.

Overall BA flew nearly 2.8 million passengers in the month, up 1.3 per cent on the 2.7 million it flew in the same period last year.

The rise was mostly down to more flyers in the UK and Europe, its biggest region, where it carried almost 1.7 million passengers, up 1.4. per cent. It also flew more people in the Americas and Africa and the Middle East. However, there was another sharp fall in passengers in Asia, with numbers falling 9.1 per cent in the month to 142,000.

The airline added that it was too early to give any indication of the impact of the recent outbreak of swine flu. Investors had sold off the company as news of the flu broke, fretting that both consumers and businesses would travel less for fear of catching the illness.

However, its shares have recovered in recent days as such concerns ease and hopes build that it could be closer to a deal with Iberia, the Spanish carrier.

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