Chief Executive Officer of British Airways, Willie Walsh stated that they have high expectations that the business class only service in the journey route from London to New York will be of a lucrative one. This statement issued was based on the UK carrier flights that was initiated recently.He stated that BA believes there is a huge demand for this service as the flights will be a focus for business flyers who presently travel from Heathrow, Europe's busiest airport, including some private jet customers.

The London based airline and Europe's third-largest, has traditionally made almost all of its profit from classes such as first and business travel. Last year, BA gained 45 percent of revenue from premium tickets which accounted for just 13 percent of seat sales. Premium traffic dropped around 12 percent last month in comparison to a 1.3 percent gain in coach.

On a more practical side, he stated that though the present environment is a tough one,this is a just a evaluation of our confidence. Additionally he added that business travel is still in a stressful condition and is hardly showing any signs of recovery.

The London to New York service will demonstrate if the carrier can draw in bankers, lawyers ,including other professionals with a product with prices beginning at about 1,900 pounds ($3,000) for a round-trip ticket. Last year, financial institutions formed 13 of the airline's
top 50 clients.

Air China offers the option of 4 types of business cards, that includes The Distinguished Travel Card, The Clear Travel Card, The Smooth Travel Card and The Easy Travel Card. Passengers can of Business travel can utilize these cards in order to store credit, book tickets, gather frequent flyer miles and make use of complimentary services and these cards come with a credit value that ranges betweeen RMB 20,000 and 300,000.

Air China has launched copious promotions and limited edition versions of the business travel cards.Validity of these promotions are from Aug 6, 2009 to Dec 31, 2009.In order to obtain this Business Card ,travelers can call +86-4008-986-999 and then press 6.After placing the order,the passenger can start using it from Sep 16, 2009. Also,when the card's credit is used up,it can be recharged further.

The various promotional offers include the following:
The initial 99 customers who purchase a limited edition Distinguished Travel Card will be given a complimentary first-class roundtrip ticket to any of Air China's global destinations. The initial 500 customers who purchase a limited edition Distinguished Travel Card will obtain a Gold Phoenix Miles Card.

The foremost 199 customers who purchase a limited edition Clear Travel Card will be given a complimentary first-class roundtrip ticket to any of Air China's domestic destinations.The foremost 1000 customers who purchase a limited edition Clear Travel Card will obtain a silver PhoenixMiles Card.

The initial 299 customers who purchase one of the 10,000 limited edition Smooth Travel Cards, will be given a complimentary economy roundtrip ticket to one of Air China's domestic destinations, plus complimentary credit of RMB 3,000.

The opening 399 customers to purchase one of the 200,000 limited edition Easy Travel Cards, will obtain a complimentary economy one-way ticket to one of Air China's domestic destinations, plus complimentary credit of RMB 1,000.

British Airways is hoping to draw business travelers who want to stay away from London's crowded Heathrow Airport and instead fly into the smaller airport near London's financial district. Because of the size of the airport, the airline said, passengers have the convenience of checking in just 15 minutes before departure.

The service will be on Airbus A318 aircraft configured to fit just 32 business-class seats.The plane, usually used by low-cost carriers, has about 100 coach seats.The flights will be the first long-haul international service to operate from London City Airport, the closest airport to the city. In a nod to aviation history, the flights will be dubbed BA001 and BA002, codes that were used by the supersonic Concorde before it was grounded in 2003.

(latimes.com)