Business travellers are increasingly choosing to travel in economy class in a bid to save money.
A recent Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) study shows that although there has been an increase in business travel during the period 1996 to 2007, more passengers are opting for economy tickets.
In 2007, 90% of short haul business passengers travelled economy class compared to just 60% in 1996, while 70% of long haul business travellers flew economy in 2007, a slight increase from 66% in 1996.
However, due to an overall rise in business travellers flying long haul, passenger numbers actually increased during the same period from 1.8m in 1996 to 3.5m in 2007, with destinations such as India, China and the United Arab Emirates showing the largest rises.
Most popular long haul business destination is North America, claiming a monopoly of 40% of all long haul business passengers, with British Airways and Virgin Atlantic flying half of these people. Low-cost airlines showed a sharp increase in short haul business passenger numbers from just 3% of the business in 1996 to 30% in 2007.
Group director of economic regulation at CAA, Harry Bush commented "The growth of no-frills travel has had a major impact on the business travel market” concluding that “the current recession is likely to see these longer term trends continue."
