easyJet increasingly popular with business travellers

British Airways was named the top airline for business travellers for the fifth year running by a recent survey, but easyJet is increasing in popularity. easyJet took second place in the survey from Virgin Atlantic.

Findings from the 10th annual Barclaycard Business Travel Survey show the top five airlines for business travel were:
1. British Airways 47% (+4% from 2004/05)
2. easyJet 8% (+2% from 2004/05)
3. Virgin Atlantic 7% (no change from 2004/05)
4. bmibaby 4% (+1% from 2004/05)
5. KLM 4% (no change from 2004/05)
 

The survey and also shows the reasons for choosing a particular airline vary considerably between service providers. For example, more than half (58%) of those who pick Virgin Atlantic do so because they like the brand, while easyJet customers are primarily attracted by low fares (85%).

BA remains theundisputed champion amongst employees of larger companies, increasing its share of this market to 54% in 2005/06, way ahead of its nearest competitor, Virgin Atlantic at just 7%.

easyJet has once again established itself as the leading player in the low-cost business travel market, maintaining the lead on rival Ryanair.

The top five low-cost airlines for business travel are:
1. easyJet 37% (+2% from 2004/05)
2. Ryanair 13% (+1% from 2004/05)
3. bmibaby 9% (no change from 2004/05)
4. British Airways 7% (+3% from 2004/05)
5. Flybe 3% (-2% from 2004/05)

The popularity of low-cost air travel for business remains high, with 71% stating that the standard of their services has either remained consistent or improved over thelast 12 months. The proximity of the departure airport was the most common reason for using low-cost business travel (40%).