Ryanair perks aimed at business flyers

Ryanair says it is luring more business passengers from established airlines as travellers shun higher fares and benefit from perks such as allocated seating.

Corporate customers now make up about 22% of passengers at the airline, CEO Michael O’Leary said yesterday.

The airline introduced reserved seating in Jan 2012, and Mr O’Leary said the high frequency of flights also appeals to business people.

“It’s a combination of low fares in a recession where businesses are increasingly saying everyone must travel at low fares” and the “breakdown of business class as a product,” he said.

European low-cost airlines are refining their no-frills models to attract more corporate clients, a market traditionally dominated by full-service airlines.

EasyJet, led by CEO Carolyn McCall, has also rolled out allocated seating, flexible tickets, and used corporate agents to attract business travellers.

British Airways, Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Air France-KLM Group have sought to raise the appeal of their business-class offerings, with BA honing its menu and Lufthansa creating more arm space.

Still, the carriers are likely to continue to cede short- haul business that doesn’t feed their major long-haul hubs to carriers like Ryanair and EasyJet, Mr O’Leary said.

“There won’t be an opportunity for people, when the economy recovers, to go back to flying these kind of short-haul airlines with their high fares and fuel surcharges, because I don’t think the services will be there,” Mr O’Leary said.

Bloomberg