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Air costs climbing: U.S., U.K. statistics show more traffic, higher prices.

Article Excerpt
Fresh figures show corporate air spending rising on both sides of the Atlantic, as businesses step up the number of flights employees take and pay a higher price per ticket, especially on long-haul routes.

American corporations spent 7 percent more on domestic flights in the last quarter of 2005 compared with the same period in 2004, while their spend to Europe was up 14 percent and to Asia by 36 percent, according to analysis of more than $500 million of client spend by Solon, Ohio-based consultancy Travel Analytics. The increases resulted from both a higher number of segments and a higher average segment price (see chart, page 34).

The travel management company BTI UK found a similar story among the 100 largest British clients it traded with for at least 12 months. Between December 2004 and December 2005, the number of air transactions rose 8 percent and the average fare by 4.9 percent to create a total cost increase of 13.3 percent. As is the case with the figures from the United States, there is a marked divergence between short- and long-haul pricing trends. U.K. domestic fares are up 0.87 percent and to continental Europe they are down 9.6 percent, but on routes to both North America and the Far...

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