CWT Sees Beginnings Of Recovery For U.K. Long-Haul Bookings

Long-haul business-class bookings by corporate clients of Carlson Wagonlit Travel in the United Kingdom are starting to recover, according to figures released by the travel management company late last month. The proportion of long-haul reservations made in business class in October and November 2009 was 47 percent, up from 45 percent in the same two months in 2008 but down from 50 percent in 2007.

At the same time, however, business class continued its steep decline on short-haul routes. Only 7 percent of bookings by CWT U.K. customers to European destinations were in the premium cabin in October and November, down from 10 percent in the same period in 2008 and 23 percent in 2007. Average short-haul premium ticket prices rose 5 percent between October/November 2008 and October/November 2009, but fell 5 percent for premium long-haul.

CWT UK director of industry affairs Nigel Turner said he was not surprised by the contrasting fortunes of business class on short-haul and long-haul. "Business travelers need to go premium on long-haul, whereas trying to justify being one side of the curtain or the other on European flights is a lot harder," he said.

Perhaps more surprisingly, downgrading by CWT customers has not extended to increased usage of budget carriers or hotels. "Scheduled airlines and three-star hotels have brought down their rates and improved their availability, so there isn't a huge difference in price," said Turner. "We are even seeing some hotels bring their star rating down."

CWT U.K. travelers benefited from a steep decline in hotel rates in some of the world's most expensive cities in 2009, including Moscow, Mumbai and Dubai, down 29 percent, 27 percent and 12 percent respectively.