Average ticket values for transatlantic flights between now and January 2022 are up nearly 40 per cent on the same period in 2019/20, showing premium cabins are in demand among business travellers as journeys between the UK and US resume.

This is according to business travel consortium Focus Travel Partnership, which has published an analysis of data from transatlantic bookings made through GDS systems in 2021.

The consortium said there was a sharp spike in demand on 22 September following the initial?announcement that the US would reopen its borders to foreign travellers in November, with bookings up 108 per cent on the previous day. In October, when an official date for the reopening was revealed, month-on-month flight bookings tripled.

Other key details revealed by the data include short windows between ticketing and departure dates, with 75 per cent of flights since September being booked for travel in November and December. The majority of bookings are now being ticketed within six weeks of travel, according to Focus.

In addition to average ticket values growing from ?2,216 between 17 November 2019 and 16 January 2020 to ?3,094 between 17 November 2021 and 16 January 2022, Focus said its data show 59 per cent of seats booked are in premium cabins. Eighty-five per cent of transatlantic flight revenue for the next few months comes from premium cabins, with 54 per cent generated from business class.

The top routes for the period 17 November 2021 to 16 January 2022 are all from London to destinations such as New York (accounting for more than a quarter of bookings), Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Boston, Dallas and San Francisco.

According to Focus, no one specific industry is leading the return of travel from the UK to the US, but that entertainment clients are featuring highly, as they did during the pandemic.

Members have reported that many clients are relaxing their travel policies around premium cabins to encourage business travel, which Focus said is a sign that duty of care is being taken seriously.

Abby Penston, CEO of Focus Travel Partnership, said: ¡°The flight routes between Europe and the UK with the US are a lifeline to many of our partners and the loosening of restrictions in November was a watershed moment.

¡°But even before the initial announcements in September, some of our TMC partners had been reporting strong demand for flights to the US, with some even reporting that New York and London had been their busiest city pair for some time as a number of business sectors were exempt from restrictions. But there is no doubt that with these major restrictions eased, we can look forward to a sustainable and responsible return to transatlantic travel.¡±

Commenting on the increase in ticket values, Penston added: ¡°The high levels of average fares from our sector will give some comfort to airlines, but it is clear that transatlantic capacity is still far below 2019 levels ¨C so the ratio of business travellers demanding premium cabins is higher per flight. In addition, we believe that passengers want the perceived Covid-19 security of more space and lounge access, which may well be driving demand for premium cabins.¡±