The TMC’s Business Travel Pulse report analyses a ‘basket’ of business travel fares based on the components of a typical corporate travel programme to identify how the cost of travel is evolving over time. The marginal increase witnessed in Q1 follows rises of 3.4 per cent in Q4 of 2024 and of 2 per cent in Q3. Privacy Policy.
In its latest Business Travel Pulse, the TMC threw a spotlight on London, revealing that although New York remains the city’s top source of air bookings, domestic and European cities make up the remainder of its top ten source markets, with Amsterdam second, Madrid third, Edinburgh fourth and Dublin fifth.
“London remains a priority destination on the global stage, with international businesses keen to capitalise on opportunities in the UK,” says Sara Andell, director of strategy at Amex GBT consulting. “Recent landmark trade agreements underscore the city’s role as a hub for meeting and dealmaking and it’s particularly interesting to see the growth in travel from emerging tech hubs like Helsinki and Bengaluru.”
Helsinki accounts for four of the TMC’s top ten fastest-growing business travel routes, with flights to/from Brussels taking the top spot, followed by flights between Albuquerque and Phoenix.
The TMC also reported a shift in air bookings towards the front of the plane over the last 12 months, with first class trips up 28.2 per cent and premium economy up 25.8 per cent year-on-year. It attributed the latter to the increasing availability of premium economy seating across more airlines.
Amex GBT uses a ‘basket’ of travel components to calculate its business travel price index, comprising the average air ticket price, which contributes 65 per cent of the index score, the average booked hotel rate, which accounts for 25 per cent of the score, the average rail ticket price, at five per cent, and the average daily car rental rate, which contributes the final five per cent of the overall index.
Tags: Sara Andell, Amex GBT, business travel
