MarketWatch: Airlines see decline in global business travel

[marmar]

Airlines see decline in global business travel
North Atlantic premium travel falls 2%; Middle East plunges 14%
By Christopher Hinton, MarketWatch


NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- A sharp drop in the number of business travelers in September bodes poorly for the future of revenue growth in the airline industry, according to data released Wednesday from the International Air Transport Association.

In September, the number of people buying first-class or business-class airfare fell 8% from a year ago, the trade group said. In August, global-wide business travel fell 1.5%.

The biggest slump was in Middle East traffic, down 14% in September, compared to the year-ago 20% growth in the region, due to strong oil revenues.

"We could see a deeper fall-off ahead for October, November and December," said Henry Harteveldt, an airlines analyst with Forrester Research. "I don't think 2009 will be the turnaround year."

Further declines are likely to put pressure on carriers to slash their ticket prices, bringing about a reversal in the industry's premium revenue growth, IATA said in a statement. .......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Airlines-see-decline-global-business/story.aspx?guid=%7B254FB5C0%2D1066%2D4ABF%2D8400%2D6DF9F713C441%7D

[MindPilot]

1. Yep, at my work, they have laid down the law

They want an 80% cutback in international travel, 60% for domestic. No spending on internal entertainment, and outside it had better be revenue-producing. No more catered meetings, etc.

This is what trickle-down really looks like. :scared:

[lib2DaBone]

2. No Wonder..U.S. Customs and Immigration treats Business Travelers like shit...

...ever since Bush.. people wait hours and are harassed by petty regulations. Domestic business travelers are harassed by the TSA, which is staffed by Brownshirt goons.

Is anyone surprised that business travel is down? There is only so much civilized people are willing to put up with from petty politicians like Bush. Then they vote with their wallet and do business elsewhere.

[marmar]

3. I think the rotten economy has something to do with it, n'est-ce pas?

n/t

[Lydia Leftcoast]

4. I can see why business class and first class are down

I'm sure they're extremely pleasant, but no way are they worth 5 times (business class) or 12 times (first class) the price of coach. As I understand, many of the people who sit there are upgraded anyway. Perhaps if the airlines cut back on upgrades and lowered the prices for business and first, they'd bring back the business.

(This is based on walking through the business and first class sections when disembarking from international flights.)