Payment services provider AirPlus International believes the business travel revival in Germany has taken a firm hold after its transaction figures showed spend in May was 19 percent up from the same month in 2009. Spending has increased sharply since January, which was flat against January 2009. February was 4 percent higher than the same month in 2009 and March/April—combined because of Easter—was 9 percent higher. For the year to date, spend is up 8 percent.
The increased spend reflects growth in both number of tickets purchased and average ticket price. The number of transactions was up 10 percent in May, while average ticket price for the year to date is €511, up from €500.
"There is still a strong focus on cost-awareness, but the need to travel is coming back," AirPlus director of sales for Germany Michael Fuerer told
EuroBTN. "German companies are making more journeys and, step by step, business class is coming back. One of our biggest customers started to allow business class on intercontinental travel again last month. There is also more long-haul travel. China is becoming more and more important."
Fuerer is convinced that the upward pattern will continue, despite German chancellor Angela Merkel's announcement of a package of austerity measures on Monday that
included an aviation departure tax. "A weak euro and a strong dollar are good for German exporters like car manufacturers," Fuerer said. One in seven jobs in Germany is connected to the automotive industry.
The figures from AirPlus include transactions from all customers, including those gained in the past 12 months. However, the company's customer base in Germany, where it has overwhelming marketshare, has remained virtually unchanged. In the rest of Europe, Fuerer claimed double-digit-percentage business growth, thus distorting figures showing total spend growth of 21 percent for May and a 12 percent increase in ticket numbers. More reliably, average ticket price for the year to date is also up, from €524 in 2009 to €535 in 2010.