Business travel offers first signs of optimism in aviation - Ascend
01-Mar-2010 London, New York, Hong Kong Business travellers are expecting to fly more often over the coming year, and predict increases in their travel budgets, according to the third annual Corporate Travel Survey by Ascend, the aerospace specialists.
Peter Morris, Ascend's Chief Economist, says the poll represents the first genuine sign of a mild recovery in the aviation market.
According to Morris: "The Ascend Corporate Travel Survey suggests a recovery - if only a weak one- is in the air, as both budgets and the number of business flights look set to increase over the next 12 months.
"Not surprisingly, the sentiment in North America is more positive overall than in Europe, reflecting trends in the wider economies of those regions."
The figures do not necessarily mean that companies are loosening their purse strings by much, "It's noteworthy that the number of corporate travellers who expect to fly more this year outstripped those whose budget for flights would increase," explains Morris.
Asked about customer satisfaction, survey respondents showed a marked dissatisfaction with on-board service levels. Morris says, "Business passengers still have plenty to grumble about, especially increased security queues and declining on-board service levels, but they now feel they have more choice and cheaper fares."
More than 250 corporate travellers from around the world were polled. The majority - 151 respondents - were typically business class travellers on long haul flights.
The survey found:
More business flights planned
- An expected 7.7% increase in the number of business flights planned over the next year
- 35% expect to fly more for business, compared to only 10% in the 2009 survey
- Only 13% expect a decrease in flights, compared to 45% last year
Increasing air travel budgets for business
- An expected 7.6% rise in air travel business budgets this year
- 28% expect an increase in air travel budgets, compared to only 9% in 2009
- Only 20% expect a decrease in budgets, compared to 54% last year
- 16% from Europe and 9% from North America expect number of flights to decrease
More optimism in North America than Europe
- 27% from Europe and 15% from North America expect a decrease in air travel budgets
More use of travel agencies
- An increase in numbers using travel agencies to find better deals: 36% from 29% last year
- A decrease in numbers using the internet to find cheaper fares: 40% from 48% last year
- Fewer companies planning to reduce number of staff travelling to conferences: 37% from 55% last year