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September 07 | Budget
airlines fares are going up |
Low cost carriers such as
easyjet, Jet2 and Ryanair have had some mixed news according to
a new report by the International travel management company Hogg
Robinson Group (HRG).
1 in 8 passengers
It was revealed in a new survey of over 250,000 business
travellers booking from the UK between May 2006 and June 2007
that the budget carriers now account for one in eight passengers
going abroad on business.
The downside for passengers is that due to the continued
popularity and aggressive marketing of the budget airlines, they
have been able to increase their prices by about 10% while major
airlines such as British Airways have responded by decreasing
theirs by 5%.
Average price now over £100
On popular routes, easyjet which was responsible for increasing
the market share by 20% came out as the most expensive of the
low cost airlines, with average ticket prices to Edinburgh and
Amsterdam now costing over £100.
HRG's Group Industry Affairs Manager, Mike Platt, said of the
new trends, "During the last year we have booked over
90,000 flights on low cost carriers and we are seeing more
businesses choose this option for domestic and some short haul
flights. It is also interesting to see business class ticket
prices increasing by almost 4% despite ticket sales remaining
static, reflecting the airlines confidence in the popularity of
the business class cabin".
Some of the main facts that the new survey uncovered -
- Major airlines
economy fares decreased by 5%
- Budget airlines
fares increased by 10%
- Business class
fares increased by 4% although passenger numbers have
remained static
- Passengers
travelling on low cost airlines has increased by 33%
to 12% of the total market share
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The report also looked at
business class destinations and found a massive increase to long
haul destinations -
- Far East and
Australia up 30%
- Middle East up by
28%
- Business travel to
Africa increased by 23%
- South America up
12%
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Africa is becoming important
Mike Platt added about the increase in popularity of flying long
haul on business, "With such steep increases in bookings it
is no surprise to see that ticket prices have risen on the most
popular routes. Africa is becoming an important business
destination, with prices up by 14%, being largely driven by the
popularity of Johannesburg. The cost of tickets to South America
is also up, by a more modest 5%, and we expect to see ticket
prices continue to rise on these routes as they become more
important business destinations".
Useful Websites
Hogg
Robinson Group
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