A new survey from Company Barclaycard, a member of Visa and the UKå‘s
leading issuer of corporate charge/credit cards, says that almost two-thirds
of business travellers now book tickets and accommodation online.
Barclaycard’s annual survey of 2,500 business travellers found that, in
2002, 58 per cent had booked business flights online and 38 per cent had
booked business train tickets online. Nine out of ten did so because the
internet was convenient, and almost all (97 per cent) said they would do so
again. Of those respondents who had not booked online, half said that they
were interested in doing so in the future.

The survey also revealed that business travellers are continuing to switch to
low-cost airlines. Half the respondents flew at least one business trip on
low-cost airlines last year, and of those, 77 per cent did it primarily to keep
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costs down. Interestingly, the vast majority of low-cost travellers (94 per
cent) said they were happy with the experience and would do it again.

Another reason for opting for low-cost airlines - cited by 17 per cent of
respondents - was the absence of other available travel options.
Of the business travellers who did not use low-cost airlines, 63 per cent said
they would consider doing so in the future. The remaining 37 per cent said
they ruled out low-cost carriers because of poor service standards (50 per
cent), because it was not an option available from their business travel agent
(34 per cent), or because of the fact that it was not suitable for their position
(6 per cent).

Business Class travel clearly remains an option for some - a fifth of respondents
said they fly business class because it is company policy.
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