Twistedenginestarter,

I agree with your point. Connectivity is part of the key. It is all very well saying you can change your budget ticket if you like, when they will not offer through ticketing. For example London to Amsterdam to Paris in one day, overnight in paris then back to say Glasgow. At every single flight sector, you must collect luggage and re-check in. And, the airline has no care if any of those sectors are delayed and a connection is missed. Its about efficiency, reliability, connectivity and many other factors which all together make your life easy when travelling ten days in a row. By the time you have been on six flights, the last thing you want is hassle. If I were say a student again, then I would fly (or bus/train) the cheapest way. The priorities in business are very different.

Budget carriers make a lot of fuss that they carry business travellers, and if it were the most convenient flight I would fly with the budget carrier. If I were travelling like I did in the past, and the company instilled a policy of budgets only, then I would be looking for a new job. People who do not fly a great deal, really have no appreciation of the effect it has on the body over time. Many companies who now insist on budget airlines only, are the type of companies who previously did not allow staff to fly (2nd class rail only).

I think you are bang on the button with BA and regional routes, connectivity is the key.

for all the budget fans, look, I didn't mention in flight meals once. That really is a red herring, and is not the reason serious business frequent flyers choose BA over say Easyjet. But after a full week of European meetings, it is sometimes nice to get pampered on the flight home.