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In Resegeometri’s latest travel industry measurement (Forecast & Travel Behaviour 2012) has more than 3,000 Nordic business travellers, traveling to Asia and North America, assessed the likelihood that they will use budget airlines on long distance when or if this will be a reality.
Based on their experience of budget airlines half of the customers says definite no to use them in this context. 38% say it’s fairly likely that they will do it, and only 12% say it’s very likely. Most adverse to using budget airlines on long haul are the Swedish business travellers with 55% saying that it’s not at all likely, and the least negative is found in Denmark where a slightly smaller percentage (42%) say it’s not at all likely.
Undoubtedly the business travellers are having split opinions in this context says Jan Borg Vice President at Resegeometri Nordic AB, and question is if the budget airlines’ calculations hold for half of the market potential. Only a low price is not enough to flirt with the business travel market on destinations like Asia and the U.S., and another relevant question is whether these carriers are willing to adapt its current low price product to the needs of business travelers on long haul destinations, and if so how this may affect their pricing.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
