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The Rise of Low-Cost Airlines Means Even Small Firms Can Now Affordto Do Face-to-Face Business With Clients Right Across the UK and Europe

Posted on: Thursday, 24 November 2005, 06:00 CST

By MATTHEW SHELLEY

LOW-COST airlines are bending over backwards to get budget- conscious Scottish business travellers aboard their planes.

With carriers like Flybe offering day returns from Edinburgh to Birmingham in mid-December for pounds 55.82 all-in, there has never been a cheaper time to fly.

Given that Christmas is just round the corner, it can be a smart move to combine your business meetings with a weekend's Christmas shopping.

And with Ryanair's autumn offer of a pounds 1 return (plus taxes) from Glasgow Prestwick to Paris Beauvais on selected dates, you could save enough to splash out in a chic French boutique.

Many of the airlines serving Scottish airports have been holding winter seat sales as they compete in a rapidly-expanding market.

Paula Horne, passenger development manager at Glasgow Prestwick, said cheap flights are attracting ever-increasing numbers of small businessmen and women heading to places such as London, Brussels, Germany and Scandinavia.

She said: "We have a lot of suits booking in during the early mornings - especially around 7am, when we have five flights going out.

"The low-cost airlines have madean incredible difference. Nowadays someone from a small company can jump on a plane at short notice and do business face-to-face.

"A few years ago it was only big companies who could afford to do that."

These days there is a huge emphasis on getting passengers through airports as quickly as possible - and that can make the low-cost operators look even more attractive.

After all, there's not much point in paying extra for the executive lounge when you are barely going to have time to plug in your laptop, let alone read the free magazine.

Horne said: "The point for business travellers is to get where they need to be as quickly as possible and to be on time."

And the choice of places to fly to is growing all the time.

Flyglobespan.com launches a new Glasgow to Amsterdam service in February with one-way fares starting at pounds 5.99. Even after taxes and fuel surcharges, caused by the current high world oil pricesare added, the total return journey costs pounds 51.58.

The growth of affordable air travel is bringing benefits to the whole Scottish economy, according to Inglis Lyon, managing director of HIAL, which operates 10 Highland and island airports.

He said: "We recently did a study which showed Inverness Airport alone generates pounds 120million in economic output from the region and supports 2500 jobs.

"The arrival of low-cost carriers has made air travel a lot more accessible to smaller businesses.

"You can now fly to places such as Manchester or Luton for much less than you would pay for fuel to do it by car. And the low-cost airlines have also encouraged all the other airlines to sharpen up."

A prime example is Eastern Airways, which has a standard overnight return fare of pounds 270.60 from Inverness to Manchester. But book well enough in advance and you can pick up one of the cheap day returns for just pounds 99.

It can also pay dividends to takeadvantage of services such as the e-mail alerts offered by airlines such as Ryanair.

Getting the lowest prices might of course mean being flexible over your dates and accepting you will have to settle for less popular times.

But if you opt for a dedicated lowcost airline, it doesn't necessarily mean you have to settle for inferior levels of service.

Flybe, for example, which offers fares such as Aberdeen to Belfast at pounds 21.99 each way, recently won a Best Business Airline award.

The airline's money-saving services include discounted books of 10 or 20 single one-way express tickets.

It also provides pre-assigned seating and more leg room than its low-cost rivals.

One of the few clouds on the horizon is the pressure on airlines caused by higher fuel prices.

However, confidence in the sector remains high, with increasing numbers of carriers competing to take you to an ever-growing list of destinations

Source: Daily Record; Glasgow (UK)

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