Corporate air travel bookings rise again

Mumbai: As global economy improves, corporate business air travel too has followed suit with the industry seeing a sharp rise in the past few weeks. Travel agents and travel portal executives say that corporate bulk bookings have resumed, reflecting a recovery pattern in the corporate travel segment. Corporate sector air travel, which typically accounts for nearly half of the airlines’ capacity consumption, had shrunk sharply due to cost cutting last year.
Naveen Gulrajani, Vice-President- Sales, Cleartrip said, “We have seen a 40 per cent increase in bulk air tickets bookings from various corporate clients, including Blue Star, since last eight weeks. This indicates a clear revival for air travel by corporates. The Mumbai-Delhi and Bengaluru-Delhi sectors have witnessed a surge in corporate air bookings apart from the Delhi-Kolkata and Delhi-Hyderabad routes.”
According to a report in Economic Times, during recession, corporates embarked on a cost-cutting drive and business travel was the first to be struck off the list. This hit airline ticket bookings and travel agents. Ashwini Kakkar, Executive Vice Chairman, Mercury Travels said, “The recovery has seen more travellers and is expected to grow further in the coming months. Corporates are booking tickets not only in the Business Class, but in other categories as well.”
Travel agents say apart from the leisure sector, business travel is back on track as corporates have started hiring people and stalled expansion plans have been revived.
04/01/10 TravelBizMonitor

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Jan 2010