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Amadeus
Blog
How low-cost and hybrid carriers can boost business travel bookings
Fredrik Odeen
Senior Manager, New Carrier Strategy, Travel Channels, Amadeus IT Group
English
This content is only available in this language.
Business travellers can’t be bothered with unnecessary distractions when they’re on the go. They’ll pay extra for better seats, quick boarding, and flexibility because to them time is money. Low-cost carriers that we’re working with – like Ryanair and easyJet – have realised this and are offering them the extras they want through travel agencies, thus tapping into this lucrative traveller segment.
We’re seeing the number of business travellers through Amadeus growing in the more than 50,000 agents that are booking LCCs through Amadeus today. Last year, business travellers booked almost 20 million trips on LCCs in Amadeus and our low-cost carrier bookings increased 11% year-on-year in 2015. While this is a significant evolution, it’s only the beginning.
By including bundled services that better accommodate business travellers through itsBusiness Plus Fare, Ryanair is fuelling their strategy to successfully tap into the higher yield corporate travel market. Ryanair also made this fare available to all Amadeus travel agents worldwide with no surcharge in order to support full channel parity and get the most out of what indirect distribution has to offer.
easyJet alsogained tractionin corporate travel when they evolved their offer to include their business specific Inclusive and Flexi Fares. By catering to the needs of business travellers and the organisations that service them, easyJet is successfully tapping into Europe’s billion dollar market place with 20% of their customers now flying for business.
Approximately 67% of business and first class bookings are done through the indirect channel, and Amadeus is the only GDS with Light Ticketing technology that allows travel agents to book flights with low-cost and hybrid carriers in the same way as they do with full-service carriers.
Reaping the Benefits
With these new business-centric fare bundles available, travel agencies are reaping the benefits of offering low-cost and hybrid content to business travellers. Agencies can book five times faster and save €3 per round trip booking. And with the global seat share of these carriers rising steadily – there’s so much more potential to be unlocked.
We’re the number one travel content aggregator that gives travel agencies access to the low-cost and hybrid carriers they need for ever demanding business travellers. Over 80 low-cost and hybrid carriers distribute their fares in Amadeus and over the last five years, our low-cost and hybrid content has more than doubled.
Offering customer centric fares in Amadeus not only empowers low cost and hybrid carriers to capture corporate travel spend, but it ultimately enhances the traveller experience.