LOW-COST carriers EasyJet and Ryanair are among the top 10 most frequently used airlines among business travellers, according to new research.
In the 1999-2000 Company Barclaycard Travel inBusiness Survey, EasyJet ranks fifth and Ryanair seventh. This is the first time that any low-cost carrier has been included in the research list.
The total number offrequent users is still very low – 2% of respondents use EasyJet and 1% use Ryanair on a regular basis, but the number of business travellers who have used no-frills airlines isgrowing.
Some 40% of respondents used a low-cost carrier in 1999-2000, an increase of 12% on the previous year. Of these, 91% said they would do so again, compared to 86% in 1998-1999.
Of the 2,000 business travellers surveyed, 48% choose to fly with British Airways, which came in at number one in the top 10.
KLM is second, accounting for 6% of frequent travellers, British Midland third with 5%, then Virgin Atlantic with 4%. Lufthansa, Air UK, United Airlines and American Airlines are all equal with Ryanair, accounting for 1% of frequent travellers.
Respondents were also asked to give ratings for the airline they most frequently use.
EasyJet received the second highest score in three categories, reliability, customer service and in-flight entertainment, while Virgin Atlantic is the most appreciated by allcustomers, achieving high scores of excellence in all five categories, which also include quality of food and business facilities.