Slight increase in business travel in Europe - EM effect noticeable in Switzerland
European companies sent more of their employees on trips again in the first half of 2024. This is shown by an analysis by corporate payment expert AirPlus International.
In the first half of 2024, employees of Swiss companies once again traveled more frequently on business trips: the number of flight tickets sold between January and June increased by 10 percent, while spending rose by 3.6 percent. This is shown by the AirPlus Business Travel Index, an analysis of transactions processed via AirPlus. The increase in travel business in Switzerland is therefore well above the average for European companies (number of tickets: +1.6 percent; ticket expenditure: +1.7 percent).
While the European Football Championship had no significant impact on travel activity among European companies, the picture is different in Switzerland: Swiss companies booked significantly more tickets to Germany in the period under review (14.06.-30.06.) than in the previous year (+6.5 percent).
"Despite adversities such as strikes and flight cancellations at the beginning of the year, European business travelers were on the road more frequently in the first half of the year than in the previous year - personal meetings therefore remain indispensable. A look at travel activity during the European Football Championship also shows that the combination of business and private travel continues to gain popularity among Swiss business travelers. Especially in times of a shortage of skilled workers, such flexible working models are an important building block for increasing both employee satisfaction and productivity and retaining talent in the long term," says Andy Stehrenberger, Managing Director of AirPlus in Switzerland.
All developments in the first half of the year at a glance:
Bleisure: Combination of business and leisure remains popular
The trend of extending business trips with a private stay continued in the first half of the year. 22.8% of Swiss travelers started their trip on a weekend - an increase of 0.4 percentage points compared to the previous year (Europe 16%; +0.6 percentage points).
More planning security
On average, Swiss business travelers booked their flights 32.3 days before departure, almost two days earlier than in the previous year (30.5 days). Companies apparently want to secure capacity and prices early on and ensure greater planning security. Female travelers were more forward-looking than their male counterparts in every market surveyed, booking trips almost five days earlier on average (Europe as a whole: 32 vs. 27.2 days; Switzerland: 33.7 vs. 31.8 days).
Booked travel classes stable, prices slightly lower
In the first half of 2024, 17.3% of Swiss business travelers booked a flight in Business Class (2023: 17.4%). 82.5% of business travelers traveled in Premium Economy or Economy Class (2023: 82.4%), with Premium Economy accounting for slightly more tickets this year than last year (1.6% vs. 0.9%).
This minimal shift in booking classes could be related to the slight changes in travel routes: In the first six months of 2024, slightly fewer business travelers moved on intercontinental routes (25.6% vs. 26.5%) and correspondingly slightly more on connections within Europe (74.2% vs. 73.3%) compared to the previous year.
Ticket prices fell in all booking classes. A Business Class ticket cost CHF 4,230 (-4.7 percent) in the first half of the year, while an Economy Class ticket cost CHF 603 (-1.3 percent). With an average ticket price of CHF 709, Premium Economy saw the biggest difference compared to the previous year (-27.2 percent).
The most popular destinations for Swiss business travelers remained unchanged from the previous year: in Europe, these were Germany, the UK and Spain, while in the rest of the world they were the USA, China and the United Arab Emirates.
Fewer domestic flights, fewer short trips
For some years now, the trend has been towards fewer domestic flights and longer trips. One of the reasons for this is companies' efforts to achieve greater sustainability.
The proportion of domestic flights in Europe fell from 32.2% to 31.3% in 2024; in Switzerland, this figure remained unchanged at a very low 0.2% in a half-year comparison. The average trip duration in Switzerland also remained unchanged at 6.5 days, with the proportion of one-day business trips continuing to decline at 4.4% (-0.4 percentage points). This trend is also evident in other European countries: at 5.8 days, the average business trip lasted a similar amount of time as in 2023 (5.9 days). The proportion of one-day short trips fell from 6.8 to 6.7 percent.
Source: www.airplus.com
