Business travel recovery stalls as companies seek to cut costs and emissions
Industry has previously been able to rely on big companies paying high prices for flexible bookings
The recovery in business travel has stalled this year amid record price rises for premium flights and growing pressure on big companies to cut their carbon emissions. Europe’s three major airline groups reported a drop in the rate of recovery in corporate travel in their most recent earnings, while bookings at US airlines have flatlined over the past year. According to data from the Global Business Travel Association and CWT, a business travel and meetings company, the average premium-class air fare has risen from $3,666 in 2019 to $4,395 this year. Recent price rises are the highest on record, they said. Robin Hayes, chief executive of JetBlue, said in the US airline’s results call this month that the industry was now operating “in a world where business travel may not be coming back”.
