The road ahead will be a long one, and over and above the concrete services offered to business travellers, it is on its - battered - image that Ryanair will have to make the greatest efforts with a clientele still wary of pure and simple 'low-cost'. But that doesn't matter: the famous low-cost carrier already boasts 25% of business travellers, and intends to increase the proportion of high-spending passengers on board its fleet. The presentation of Business Plus on 27 August marks a milestone in Ryanair's new strategy for the corporate market. On the agenda: flexible ticket changes, 20kg baggage allowance, fast track service in certain airports, priority boarding and access to Premium seats. Ryanair is also preparing to sign a second GDS partnership to consolidate its distribution. "This launch of Ryanair Business Plus, combined with our new group and corporate service, and our GDS partnership with Travelport - with a second GDS partner to be announced shortly - will make business travel with Ryanair even simpler, as we continue to offer much more than the lowest fares," notes Kenny Jacobs, Ryanair's Marketing Director. This small revolution in Ryanair's positioning is reminiscent of the strategic change of direction successfully implemented by its competitor easyJet, which has rapidly gained ground with business customers by combining a dense network, an upmarket service and stronger distribution. It now remains to be seen how long the low-cost airline's makeover will take to establish itself in the business travel segment.
