According to Anthony Drury, head of business, easyJet, when travelling for business, there are some things that are non-negotiable.
“Like speedy boarding to maximise every minute, free route changes for those inevitable last-minute requests requests, and mobile technology to avoid printed itineraries of yesteryear.
[…] These necessities should be included without exception in every flight booking, to maximise the traveller experience,” he noted.
Likewise, a survey published by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) revealed that when considering which airline add-ons to negotiate into contracts, travel buyers most commonly report eliminating fees for cancelled or changed itineraries, receiving name change waivers for tickets and ticket credits and removing checked-bag fees as valuable.
Fredrik Odeen, senior manager, new carrier commercial strategy, airline distribution marketing, Amadeus, revealed, “We are seeing the number of business travellers through Amadeus growing in the more than 50,000 agents that are booking low-cost carriers through Amadeus today. [In 2015], business travellers booked almost 20 million trips on low-cost carriers in Amadeus and our low-cost carrier bookings increased 11 percent year-on-year.”
He deemed that while this is a significant evolution, it is only the beginning.
In the Middle East, budget carrier flydubai launched business class services in early 2014 to provide faster check-in, comfortable and spacious seating and a variety of internationally-inspired menus.
In 2015, the offering was introduced on 17 new routes representing 87 percent of all departures from Dubai.
The number of business class passengers from across the airline’s network increased 72 percent compared to 2014, with the highest demand coming from Africa, followed by the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East.
Determined to adhere to the surrounding rhetoric, easyJet also gained traction in corporate travel when it evolved to include two types of specific fares and has now successfully managed to tap into Europe’s high-net-worth market with 20 percent of its customers flying on business.
Similarly, Ryanair offers bundled services through its Business Plus fare to better accommodate executives.
With these new business-centric packages available, travel agencies are reaping the benefits of offering low-cost and hybrid content to business travellers, summed up Odeen.
WHEN TIME IS MONEY
Aside from costs, companies also appreciate time efficiency, with Odeen observing, “Businesspeople cannot be bothered with unnecessary distractions when they are on the go, so they will pay extra for better seats, quick boarding, and flexibility because to them, time is money.”
Jurd agreed saying that clients can avoid unnecessary consumption of valuable working time which is often the case when travelling commercially.
“By using a private jet, the client can arrive at the airport 15 minutes prior to departure and when they arrive at their destination jump straight into a chauffeur-driven car and be at a down town meeting whilst the commercial traveller is still being processed through immigration,” he stated.
