Connections were in the news this week. OAG released its annual Megahubs Index and British Airways announced that it was improving its service for connecting passengers at Heathrow.
Both are significant for travel buyers.
As the opportunity for cost-savings from negotiated rates and downgrading class of travel decreases, corporates are increasingly employing other tactics, such as putting their travellers on connecting flights.
There are reasons — and benefits. A short hop by a London-based business traveller to the Continent to then sit in business class for a long-haul flight to the Far East could mean a more comfortable experience for the traveller and lower costs for the business.
There are two main reasons. The first is that carriers are always able to offer keener rates in their non-home markets. The second is that every carrier has some services for which it is more difficult to put bums on seat than others — connecting services are a way of increasing the load factor on those routes and the consumer enjoying lower fares.
For a business traveller the downside is time. A connection means greater total trip time.
And time is more money for the company, less family time for the traveller.
The OAG attempts to quantify this. The BA initiative aims to address it.
The annual Megahubs Index measures how 'connected' an airport is by ranking airports in terms of quantity of connecting options within six hours.
Six hours is probably beyond the acceptable outer limit for most business journeys but our chart this week is very telling:
Source: OAG
Not only is Heathrow first but Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Charles de Gaulle are all in the top 10. What we believe to be the four most obvious business airports in Europe indeed are if connectivity is a criterion. The home carrier in every one of them (BA, LH, KL and AF) moreover has more than 50% share of all flights.
The report may reinforce what we already know, namely that these are solid corporate options, but it also suggests that there are new potential business hubs in the pipeline.
At number 8 is Singapore; numbers 12-15 are respectively Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Seoul. All these Asian airports are aggressively expanding. One of the reasons is that as Asian economies boom, the demand for intra-Asia travel is also increasing rapidly.
British Airways has recognised the importance of connecting business through its hub and has taken steps to improve the process and experience at Heathrow Terminal 5.
Details of connecting passengers will be monitored and provided with connection information and, if necessary, flight details while still in the air. The carrier has organised an Express Connect service to get passengers on tight connections through a Fast Track. For those travelling in a premium cabin or have gold or silver status this service means a chauffeur-driven executive car.
According to an industry study "business travellers contribute more than leisure travellers. Business travellers account for 12% of passengers but are typically twice as profitable for airlines."
British Airways has taken steps to save time and make life easier for those business travellers who are on connecting flights. And contribute to its profits.