EDITOR’S LUNCH
Our well-travelled readers discuss how they choose their airline
Business Traveller lunches bring readers together for enjoyable food, drink and entertaining conversation. This March, we discussed the key factors that influence our airline choices
For the business traveller, it’s not just a matter of the lowest fare or convenience that determines choice of airline. There are a number of other competing factors, from timetables to gut feeling. The subject was discussed during a recent editor’s lunch in a private dining room at the Royal Automobile Club on London’s Pall Mall, hosted by sponsor Aeroflot.
On brand
A reader, who regularly flies to Iraq and often in economy, kicked off the discussion with a telling point: “The brand of a nation is very much associated with the brand of an airline, and so your airline will be associated with political developments.” A British travel manager added: “When I was working in the Middle East I always wanted to fly back home on a British Airways flight. South Africans will prefer to be with South African Airlines. And so on.”
Giorgio Callegari, deputy CEO for strategy and alliances at Aeroflot, gave an airline’s perspective: “This is something that every airline deals with; finding the balance between tradition and innovation. For example, Lufthansa has just changed the character of its airline by rebranding, but the key thing is that it is still a German airline.”
Personal space
So an airline’s nationality – or even the association with it – is a really big factor in the final choice. But, curiously, the next issue raised was not price or destination, but passenger room and its attendant attribute, privacy. One traveller spelled it out: “The most important thing for me is space. I am a 50,000-plus tier point BA traveller with Gold membership for life. But I won’t fly with them business [class]; I just don’t think that eight across [seating] is acceptable in business class, especially when other IAG airlines have four across. Most other airlines are four to six. So I will go Swiss or Lufthansa.”
One young participant said: “We would all take a Singapore Airlines suite if we could; but I think privacy is king over space. As much as I like Virgin from an emotional point of view, Virgin doesn’t give much privacy, and I don’t know how many people I can make eye contact with at the same time when I’m flying in an Upper suite. As much as BA might not be the world’s favourite airline any more, if you are in a window seat, especially 64A or 64K on the upper deck [in Club World on a B747], privacy is pretty good.”
Callegari added: “Space has come up as a strong point whether you are travelling economy or
business. [As an airline you have to] make efficient use of your space. We have fixed business class seats, only four across, two and two, in all our narrow bodies – but we maximise efficiency by having the same fleet flying domestic and international. That builds a different kind of loyalty, not through points, but through being in a position to rely on the same quality across the network.”
Lounge act
Business Traveller’s editor Tom Otley wanted to know how important lounges are to travellers, and the response was unanimous. One reader said: “Really important, especially if you’re delayed. I don’t want to fly 14 hours to Bangkok. I’ll stop in Dubai, have a twohour stopover, shower, shave, use wifi, and it’s fantastic.” Another added: “I go to the airport early to make use of the lounge.” A third said: “Some people skip the food on the plane and prefer to eat in the lounge. You get to know, using certain websites, which are the best lounges.”
Price points
Conversation was steered to the issue of price, which so far the lunch group had been politely reluctant to discuss. One traveller, who flies from Manchester to London and back “one hundred times per year”, said: “My favourite airline is Easyjet. It’s not the most luxurious, but it is consistent. I don’t have high expectations, but you know what you’re going to get. It’s not over-promising.” Another reader chipped in: “I live ten minutes from Stansted airport, so if I fly with Ryanair for £20 to Dublin, I’ll save myself 40 per cent [on the onward long-haul leg of the journey].” Comparison and booking websites have clearly been a disruptive force too. A frequent traveller said: “I got a BA flight for 50 per cent off by going through a third party. People don’t go directly to airlines now, as they won’t tell you what the best price is.” Another pointed out that: “You are prevented from getting the prices [tickets are sold for] abroad, as some websites are blocked. In the US you are limited to about three airlines to get out of the country. The EU is a better place to buy a flight.” Aeroflot’s spokesman Callegari was well aware of this. “Our flights [to the US] are about 40 per cent cheaper, even though we have a better service than the US airlines. But we are 45 per cent less expensive in the [running] costs. So in terms of Skyscanner’s site, and so on, we come up in first place, but we can sustain this.” Nationality and identity; space and privacy; access to good lounges; pricing and online deals, all these are key factors, but not the only ones. Food and drink came up as a topic, perhaps not surprisingly as the assembled table had by now moved on from a starter of crab salad to roast rack of lamb. “Let’s be honest, that’s why we’re here,” someone wisecracked to a roomful of laughter.
Wine and dine
“On Easyjet, it’s a panini. But on a long-haul flight, does it matter?” asked Otley. “That depends on the duration of the flight,” one reader said, to a murmur of agreement. “If the food is great, you’ll remember it; if it’s atrocious, you won’t go back.”
Aeroflot’s Callegari added that “The cost of a good meal is not much compared to the cost of good in-flight entertainment [IFE]. The movie rights and so on are very expensive. But not many people are prepared to do without the IFE.”
Editor Otley pointed out there are other important reasons for good meals and IFE: passenger control. “One of the reasons that airlines give food and wine to passengers, particularly in economy, is because once the passengers stand up, it’s chaos. Make them put their tray table down, then put something on it. That’s why the stewards don’t rush to pick it back up. Once the tray goes up, the passengers get up and move around. A two-hour film does the same thing; it keeps them in their seat, and allows the crew to get around.”
So it seems the future of a good meal and decent IFE looks secure. Add that to the long list of other expectations that our readers have, including: a decent amount of space, good lounges and competitive pricing, and it sounds as if Giorgio Callegari and his colleagues at Aeroflot will have plenty of priorities to keep them occupied.