DISCOUNTS, rewards and extras are no longer the preserve of corporate heavyweights as airlines wake up to the spending potential of small and medium-sized companies (SMEs).
More carriers are developing dedicated programmes to attract SMEs, offering them discounted fares and the chance to earn points in exchange for benefits, rewarding their loyalty in the same way a frequent-flyer scheme rewards an individual for his. Benefits include airport transfers, car hire, train tickets, hotel nights and lounge access.
Businesses can monitor their accounts and employees’ travel patterns online, or the account can be managed by their travel management company. British Airways’ corporate scheme, On Business, is open to any company with five or more travelling employees and without a BA corporate deal. This month it will allow the 14,000 companies registered to swap reward points for upgrades to redeem them online.
“We make it low hassle for the companies, which probably do not have travel management,” says Stuart Beamish, BA head of business marketing. It has launched a corporate card with American Express that allows companies to earn 50 per cent more On Business points per flight.
Scandinavian Airlines has published a guide to managing business travel aimed at SMEs and has a new online tool, the SAS travel adviser, for companies to identify their best products and services. Although single SMEs do not have the buying power of big companies, airlines see that their combined clout is huge. “SMEs are a growing market segment, with lots of largely unmanaged travel,” says Thomas Brandt, Delta Airlines’s general manager, distribution planning international.
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“We want to support SMEs as they grow, then we can assist them with corporate deals,” says Alan Lias, head of loyalty marketing for Virgin Atlantic, whose scheme, Flying Co, is open to companies with at least two travellers flying more than five round trips in qualifying classes to earn at least 20,000 core Flying Co miles a year.
BA claims to be the only airline that awards points to companies for all types of fares, even its cheapest, while other airlines give rewards only for “qualifying fares”.
Bmi’s Routepass saves companies up to 20 per cent on business or full economy tickets on a particular route. Companies can buy ten one-way tickets for one individual or 20 for up to five employees. Travellers get lounge access and automatic membership of Diamond Club, bmi’s frequent-flyer scheme and faster membership status upgrades.
Car rental companies also run SME programmes. Hertz’s Hertz Link offers corporate rates and free delivery and collection within a five-mile radius of its 136 locations. Budget Rent-a-Car’s new BusinessConnections programme offers discounts, special offers and upgrades.
Hotels have been slower to tap in to the SME market. Starwood Hotels claims to be the only chain with a dedicated programme, Starwood Preferred Business, launched a year ago. Under this scheme, two starpoints are awarded to the traveller and one to the company for every dollar spent. Other benefits include upgraded rooms, late check out, and discounted rates.