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Major airlines to get on business travel bandwagon

Major airlines to get on business travel bandwagon Virgin Atlantic Airways and British Airways have signalled that they will enter the market for all-business-class flights, with lower fares offered than regular business and first-class tickets in order to compete with Eos, MAXjet, Silverjet and l'Avion.

New plans include private departure and arrival lounges and fast-tracking through airports to avoid delays and queuing.

Eos and MAXjet tapped the market for business travel in late 2005 and Silverjet and l'Avion, began
business-class only flights this year across the Atlantic.

The four business exclusive airlines claim that demand for the service has grown beyond their expectations. In June 70 per cent of seats were filled on the slowest days, which has meant that larger carriers are interested in the market.

Richard Branson, president of Virgin Atlantic, mused: "There clearly is a demand for a niche for an all-business-class offering," adding that research revealed a "mood change" over the last five years with business passengers wanting to share their air travel experience with peers. "It's a status thing," he explained, "and a psychological thing."

Virgin announced last month that in 18 months time it hopes to start all-business-class flights across the Atlantic.

Meanwhile, Willie Walsh, the chief executive of British Airways, said that BA was researching the possibility of flying smaller aircraft between the US and major European cities with all-business-class passengers. "This is clearly a real opportunity for us," Mr Walsh said.

Henry H Harteveldt, a senior analyst at Forrester Research explained that business travellers need their transport to be practical. "If you tell a business traveller, 'You can get to the airport 35 or 45 minutes before we close the door, and we guarantee you that you and your luggage will get there,' that is worth extra money," he said.

"I'm not surprised that Eos, MAXjet, Silverjet and l'Avion are gaining traction," Mr Harteveldt added. "I'm not surprised that Virgin and British Airways have taken notice."

Leading independent travel company Travel Counsellors has a dedicated team of business Travel Specialists who deal exclusively with the business travel market. The company has also witnessed a growth within this sector and now has more than 70 agents who offer tailored advice to corporate business travel clients, with a further 140 who specialise in both business and leisure travel, who can be accessed through our website.

All these Business Travel Counsellors all have an average of 18 years of experience behind them and can provide advice on everything from travel and accommodation to suggesting team building activities, meeting venues or where to wine and dine clients.

Commenting on the company's business travel sector Travel Counsellors' managing director Steve Byrne said: "Travel Counsellors is extremely proud of the specialised travel service we provide businesses. Our business travel counsellors have a wealth of expert knowledge and experience and provide companies with a dedicated personal service to cater to all their business travel needs. It is a very exciting time for our business travel sector and we look forward to continued growth and success."

Business travellers can visit the company's bespoke website, where they can find expert advice on business travel as well as award-winning customer service.

Specialist Travel news posted on 27 July 2007

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