American Airlines’ extensive route system has helped it take top honors in LatinFinance’s annual corporate travel poll. Survey respondents overwhelmingly chose behemoth American as the best airline serving the region, saying “all the destinations are covered” by the carrier, it “has more route options” and American has “the best coverage of the region.”
American also wins the double-title of best carrier with service between the US and Latin America/Caribbean, as well as best within the Caribbean.
British Airways, meanwhile, is the top vote getter when judged on overall service between Europe and Latin America/Caribbean.
This year’s LatinFinance Corporate Travel Survey received 579 responses from business people who travel exhaustively in Latin America. These are true road warriors: Nearly 60% say they take more than six international business trips a year. A full 13% rack up in excess of 31 international work trips annually.
About 38% of the respondents spend more than $25,000 on travel each year. One respondent says he spends more than 10 times that amount annually.
Travel agencies still book most of these trips – 39% of respondents use outside travel agencies to arrange their trips and another 29% rely on their companies’ in-house travel departments. The rest book over the Internet.
These executives spend as much time in planes and hotels as they do in their offices – and they’ll tell you that while on the road good and reliable services, as well as sensitivity to their business needs, can sometimes dictate the success – or failure – of a trip.
For service within the region – with the exception of American’s win in the Caribbean – Latin American carriers beat out both US and European competitors in our travel survey.
LAN’s recent transformation from a Chilean airline to a regional powerhouse with satellite operations in Ecuador and Peru (and designs on soon adding Argentina) won it an outstanding review from our readers. They gave it double honors: as the best airline serving the Andes and as the best within the Southern Cone. In selecting the carrier, survey respondents cited “best service and entertainment,” LAN’s on-time record, comfortable planes and the “professionalism” of the flight crew and staff.
Mexican flagship Aeroméxico – in line to be sold by the government – took the top prize for service within Mexico while financially flailing Varig grabbed the No. 1 spot for service within Brazil. TACA, a pioneer in setting up a hub-and-spoke route network, was voted the best airline within Central America.
When it came down to service, attention to detail and the flat beds offered by British Airways put that European carrier ahead of the competitors in the category of best first class. American was voted as having the best business class, as well as the best economy class.
Meanwhile, American Airlines’ AAdvantage program emerged as the best frequent flier program and the carrier’s Admirals Club at Miami International Airport was cited as the best airport lounge in the Americas.