Corporate travel is on the rise amid sustained economic growth, and airlines are responding to the higher demand with product tweaks and new features.
While IndiGo will soon launch its business-class product on the Delhi-Chennai route, Air India is targeting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with a separate portal and attractive pricing.
“The SME portal is going to really help improve our penetration of corporations because SMEs are hard to penetrate. They are small and fragmented. So we are now encouraging them to come and book directly with us through the portal, and we are providing very attractive terms and pricing,” Air India’s chief commercial officer Nipun Aggarwal said in a recent interaction.
Strengthening of sales team, expanded network and consistency in product post Vistara merger is also helping Air India grow its corporate business. It has added 1,700 plus corporate clients in the past few years.
IndiGo’s CEO Pieter Elbers said the airline’s business class product has received a positive response following its rollout last November. “We are encouraged by the results. The combination of a business class and a loyalty programme is very strong asset,” Elbers said.
Top Destination
International airlines too are seeking a pie of the business as improved economic outlook is leading to more travel.
Auto and FMCG sectors have seen a pick up in sales in the December-end quarter. Gross foreign direct investment and exports from India too have shown growth.
Last September, Malaysia Airlines revamped its corporate travel product enabling customers to earn and burn reward points for upgrades, extra baggage allowance among others. The airline also expanded its offerings to cater to SMEs with preferential fares and personalised support.
Dersenish Aresandiran, chief commercial officer, Malaysia Aviation Group said India is a key market for the airline. “Our corporate travel programme is designed to meet the evolving needs of Indian businesses by delivering seamless and rewarding travel experience,“ he added.
Strong uptick
Air Mauritius is offering incentives to travel agents to push meetings, conferences and events in the island nation. As a part of its scheme, agents are being offered ₹500-1,000 per flown passenger depending upon the size of the group.
“Direct connectivity and increased capacity has created a strong uptick for destinations like Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and this is good news for the corporate MICE segment,” said Indiver Rastogi, President and Global Head, business travel of Thomas Cook India and SOTC.
Overall Thomas Cook India has seen 13 per cent year-on-year growth in its business travel segment with demand coming from IT enabled services, manufacturing and auto sectors.
Industry executives say there is no let up in corporate travel despite increase in hotel rates and airfares over pre-Covid period.
“Strong economic growth and political stability is driving business travel with our data showing a 6-8 per cent growth in bookings for H2 2024 versus H2 2023,” said Sunny Sodhi, Managing Director, FCM India.
“Our insights show that the top destinations for business travel from India are Singapore, UK, US, UAE and France,” he added.
