Feature: Low-Cost Carriers HOW ONE LCC WORKS THE MARKET
Flybe is billed as one of Europe’s largest and most successful regional airlines, operating over 180 routes across 13 countries. The airline's head of sales, Stephen Hobday, explains the value of the corporate travel market to its low-cost operating model.
Flybe has always included corporate travellers in its business model. How important is the corporate market to you? Business travellers represented 43 per cent of Flybe’s passenger numbers in the 2009/10 financial year. As a result, Flybe works closely with the trade and business communities, employing universal distribution systems that include strong, extensive GDS relationships.
Do you think business travellers will slip away as the recession eases and travel budgets become more generous? Flybe has introduced a whole new audience to its product over the past few years of recession. The added value enjoyed by business travellers through Flybe’s premium Economy Plus product has resulted in increased repeat travel within this sector. Indications are that businesses will continue trying to drive down costs and this includes maximising value on their limited travel budgets.
easyJet ➔
trodden business travel corridor – as well as the leisure-rich Dublin-Malaga route. But, inevitably, it is going to cost. The pre-booked service costs ten euros each
way, including priority boarding, and allows passengers to pre-reserve seats in the front two rows for a prompt exit on arrival, or in over wing rows that provide greater legroom. Ryanair continues to offer its early boarding service for four euros a time, with priority and reserved seating passengers allowed to board the aircraft first, before the hoi polloi. This unbundled approach to the cost of flying
used to mark out the true low-cost, no-frills airline but, confusingly, legacy carriers are now getting into the game as well. Institute of Travel and Meetings chief executive Paul Tilstone says, “The dividing line between what is a no-frills carrier and what is a legacy carrier is becoming increasingly blurred. From a business traveller’s point of view, it is about finding your optimum point on that spectrum.” And with AirAsiaX cheekily pushing into the heartland of long-haul business travel with 18 lie-flat seats in a premium cabin on flights out of the UK, the business traveller’s choice continues to expand. As the airline does not deal with corporate travel agents for its bookings, CEO Azran Osman-Rani says it is difficult to give definitive corporate travel statistics, but he estimates that 20 per cent of the carrier’s total traffic is
business related. “It is an area we’re looking to develop,” he says. “Many of the large Malaysian corporations and banks’ top staff are using the premium seat product and awareness is continuing to grow all the time, both for premium and the economy section of the cabin for SME owners.” But take-up of the airline’s new Go Corporate programme is relatively slow to take off because fares are higher using this service, which include benefits such as a dedicated telephone line. Undaunted, AirAsiaX is now launching a loyalty programme for business and leisure passengers. Norwegian is another low-cost carrier making an impact in the corporate arena and is introducing 15 new Boeing 737-800 into its fleet, all equipped with wifi and the new Dreamliner interior, SKY. “Norwegian is experiencing strong passenger growth every month, and a considerable number of these passengers are business travellers,” says communications manager Lasse Sandaker-Nielsen. “We believe that more and more business travellers will choose Norwegian because we are an airline that offers our passengers the luxury of brand new aircraft and a cabin with more leg-room, more room for carry-on luggage, LED mood lighting and reduced noise,” says Sandaker-Nielsen With low-cost airline routes increasingly meeting business travel needs, their
As a budget airline, is there a marked difference for passengers moving between your services and those of codeshare partners such as Air France? Flybe is a regional airline not a classic low-cost carrier. We adopt the best practice from both the low-cost and full service sectors, and that’s why we have been so successful. Flybe’s Economy Plus product offers travellers a fully flexible premium service that includes a whole host of key value added benefits that are also offered by many of its codeshare partners, including fully changeable tickets, generous baggage allowances, online customer account activity, access to Flybe’s Executive Lounges, priority check-in, complimentary drinks and snacks, as well as double points on the airline's frequent flier programme, Rewards4All.
What are your major business-friendly products and services? One of the most popular facilities for companies is our Business Express product. It is a book of tickets that offers substantial up-front savings and generous discounts on Premium Economy bookings. They are especially popular for the SME market and those organisations that don't always have the volume of bookings required to qualify for or sustain a corporate agreement.
➔
WWW.THEBUSINESSTRAVELMAG.COM I 51
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76