Fighting for the business class
With companies' tighter travel budgets, and fewer passengers in business class, airlines are racing to pamper the business traveler with promotions and incentives. LOT Polish Airlines has just introduced an 80-percent-off companion fare for business class.
"This is our first promotion with such a price offer. We need to take a look how the customers will respond to that," Paweł Pudłowski, LOT's sales director told WBJ, not excluding the possibility of repeating the promotion in the future. The carrier has also introduced a new menu designed by renowned chef Robert Sowa of Jan III Sobieski Hotel.
Other airlines are also reaching out to business passengers. British Airways is in the process of equipping its Club World long-haul business class cabins with fully reclining seats. The carrier has recently offered a two-for-one business class promotion for its US and Canada routes.
In September British Airways is launching a London City Airport - New York JFK route, dedicated exclusively for business people. The plane will be equipped with 32 business class seats only. Willie Walsh, CEO of British Airways, said that despite the tougher times for the industry, it was the right decision to commence the route so that BA could stand out from the crowd and prove itself innovative.
Being aware of how business travelers treasure time, Finnair has been promoting itself as a provider of the fastest link between Europe and Asian destinations.
"We are able to offer a minimum connection time of 35 minutes at Helsinki-Vantaa, which is among the shortest in Europe," said Juhani Nuoramo, Finnair's director of sales for Central Europe. Business travelers with longer transfer times may use a leisure facility at Helsinki airport with saunas overlooking runways.
Emirates offers private suites in the first class sections of its Airbus A380 and Boeing 777LR planes. The former plane is even equipped with a spa and showers. Apart from a companion fare, the airline has recently introduced free accommodation for business travelers in a Dubai hotel.
"Unlike [passengers in] the West, corporate travelers in Poland usually take advantage of the lowest fares. Business class is reserved for top management or long-haul flights," commented Wojciech Kożuchowski, a sales manager at American Express Business Travel in Warsaw. Asked about the response to LOT's recent offer, he said that Amex's business-travel clients don't pay attention to companion-fare promotions.
Marcin Poznań