British Airways has named the fastest-growing routes booked through its SME loyalty programme, with destinations including Keflavik in Iceland, the Chilean capital Santiago and the Nigerian cities Abuja and Lagos.
The airline said that data from its On Business programme showed small- to medium-sized businesses diversifying their travel habits and looking beyond traditional markets.
The list of destinations with the biggest year-on-year growth features Keflavik with 39 per cent more bookings, Santiago up 18 per cent, Krakow in Poland up 12 per cent, and Abuja and Lagos, up 10 per cent each.
Bookings between Gatwick and JFK, traditionally a leisure route, rose 10 per cent.
Carolina Martinoli, British Airways’ Director of Brand and Customer Experience, said:
“We fly to over 200 destinations around the world. While booking to our traditional business routes remain strong, it’s interesting to see that SMEs, through our On Business programme, are looking to different global destinations to travel to for work.”
James Ashton-Bell, CBI Head of International Trade, said: “2018 was a great year for UK exports, with new records set for innovative British goods and services reaching overseas destinations. Small and scale-up firms are powering this drive, breaking into new markets and discovering that demand for British expertise is ever-growing.”
