Low-cost carriers good for business

Two low-cost carriers, easyJet and bmibaby, have been named amongst business travellers’ top airlines for the first time. EasyJet was voted the second favourite airline overall in a recent Barclaycard survey, while bmibaby came in as the fourth most popular carrier. British Airways was still top of the list, but its market lead slipped from 46% in 2002/03 to 35% in 2003/04. The Travel in Business survey revealed that low cost airlines are posing a very real threat to the future of business class. The number of travellers flying in premium cabins has tumbled from 39% to just 27%. In addition, the number of chief executives that take between 90% and 100% of their air travel in business class has more than halved in the last three years, falling from 15% in 2000 to 7% in 2003. Simon Chick of Company Barclaycard said: “The difference between the services offered by Premium Economy and Business Class appear to no longer justify the difference in costs and the business traveller in the 21st century is now in a stronger position than ever to demand lower fares.”