Ryanair has been branded the “business travel villain” of 2011 and the airline most business travel buyers would like to erase.
The no-frills airline’s CEO Michael O’Leary was also voted in separately as number four “villain”.
British Airways topped the poll of business travel heroes and was also voted the second highest rated brand that inspires confidence in buyers. But BA was also rated behind Ryanair as second “business travel villain” of the year.
The results come from a poll of 252 business travel buyers for the Business Travel Show.
Show director David Chapple said: “What this survey shows is that, when it comes to buying business travel, passions run most high when talking about the airline industry, and buyers are certainly passionate in their feelings towards Ryanair.
“With O’Leary’s no-nonsense, no-apology attitude, this result is unsurprising.
“However, British Airway’s positioning is interesting – who would have thought they’d have such a Marmite effect on buyers? It clearly reflects how one experience – good or bad – can really colour a brand’s values in the eyes of buyers.
“It’s great to see EasyJet at number three on the heroes poll, given the airline only launched into the business travel market at Business Travel Show this year.
“And congratulations to the likes of Eurostar and Premier Inn. Premier Inn is a great British success story – the company is currently the UK’s fastest growing budget hotel chain.”
Top five business travel heroes of 2011:
- British Airways
- Eurostar
- EasyJet
- Boris Johnson
- Emirates
Top five business travel villains of 2011:
- RyanAir
- British Airways
- EasyJet
- Michael O’Leary
- Heathrow Airport
Top five brands, people or places that inspire the most confidence in buyers:
- Virgin Atlantic
- British Airways
- Emirates
- Premier Inn
- Marriott
Top five brands, people or places that buyers would most like to erase:
- Ryanair
- EasyJet
- Charles de Gaulle airport
- British Airways
- London