36-38 INDUSTRY air 2/12/08 15:05 Page 37
industry report – air 37
5:3. A QUARTER OF ALL RESPONDENTS FOUND THE
air travel bookings
PROPORTION OF THEIR PREMIUM BOOKINGS INCREASED
5:2. Has your number of air bookings in the past year
increased or decreased?
INCREASED increased 2007: 79% 2008: 54%
decreased 2007: 10% 2008: 16%
24%
stayed the same 2007: 11% 2008: 30%
5:3. Of your overall air bookings, has the proportion of your
THE AIRPORT
premium (first or business-class) bookings in the past year
increased or decreased?
OPTIONS FOR increased 24%
LONG-HAUL
decreased 36%
TRAVEL ARE
stayed the same 40%
DECREASED VAST – MANY 5:4. What percentage does air travel comprise of your overall
TRAVELLERS
business travel bookings?
36%
less than 10% 5%
AVOID LONDON
11-25% 8%
AND GO VIA
26-50% 17%
FRANKFURT,
51%+ 70%
PARIS OR THE
5:5. How many airlines does your company have a supplier
MIDDLE EAST
deal with?
04%
13
STAYED THE SAME 1-3 7%
4-6 7%
40%
7-10 9%
10+ 70%
5:6. How often do you make bookings out-of-policy?
often 19%
sometimes 66%
never 15%
It is no surprise, then, that cost remains the main
concern for travellers when it comes to air travel – it
topped the list for 50% of respondents (5:1). Choice of
airport was second top priority, at 19%.
Tim Giles, director of business travel at Worldchoice,
said: “It’s clear to everyone why cost will always be the
clients’ focal concern. But choice of airport is a modern
issue. There is less scope to be picky when flying short-
haul, but the options available when flying long-haul
are vast. If flying from the UK regions, travellers will
often try and avoid London and fly via Paris, Frankfurt
or even the Middle East. It is a critical part of the travel
experience and should not be taken lightly.”
No-frills growth
More TMCs are booking travellers on no-frills carriers.
Some 44% of respondents said low-cost bookings
make up more than 10% of their overall air bookings,
up 9% on last year (5:9). Easyjet was the most popular
no-frills airline in last year’s report. It remains the
trade’s favourite low-cost carrier this year with 23% of
respondents saying they use it for most of their budget
bookings (5:7). Flybe was third on 21% just behind
Ryanair which scored 22%.
Stephen Hobday, Flybe’s UK head of sales, made L50480
ttgbusiness.com ❖ industry report 2008
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