Airline Loyalty for Business Travellers.
There is an interesting article in today’s AFR about the fundamental changes going on Australia’s business travel:
http://www.afr.com/specialreports/re...X7F2ZCZGD.html
Essentially, the journalist argues that business travellers are ‘pulling the plug on airline loyalty in a big way’ – but the winner is not automatically Virgin Blue. Apparently they (we) have learnt to pay Qantas a lot less than before.
The MD of one corporate travel consultancy is quoted as saying “We could be as little as six months away from the meltdown that has occurred out of the blue in Europe, with clients en masse abandoning the traditional high-fare carriers and deciding that single-class, low-fare air travel is the norm, not the exception. The same situation exists in the US. The passengers have staged a revolt and the old high-fare structure isn't coming back”.
The message seems to be that the old high cost enterprises that we grew to love and hate no longer have relevance in the market place. The CEO of the Business Travel Association is quoted as saying: "Our buyer members depend for their living on delivering cost efficiency, and loyalty to Qantas or Virgin Blue only plays a role once that requirement is being met”.
The article also makes some interesting obsverations about seating pitch and the provision of lounges.
Interesting times ahead, methinks.