Qantas' Market Share in Business Travel Eroding

14th Jul 2014

The state-controlled carrier is feared to lose its dominance as the country's most favored airline for business travelers in a few year's time as its market share is steadily eroding.

Based on the latest survey, Virgin Australia was able to increase its market share by more than 4%, while Qantas' share fell to 54% for the last fiscal year.

The survey done by Morgan Stanley AlphaWise, now on its third year, polled some 214 corporate travelers representing the country's largest companies whose annual revenue is in excess of $1 billion or with more than 1,000 regular employees.

In the survey, though Qantas' market share eroded down to 54%, it still holds a substantial lead over Virgin Australia, its major competitor, whose share is half the size of the former.

According to Nicholas Markiewicz, a Morgan Stanley analyst, the decreasing dominance of Qantas in the corporate travel market shows Virgin Australia's effective marketing campaign and improved service for its business travelers.

Quite surprisingly, Qantas scored more favorably and even higher than Virgin Australia in almost all price category. However, according to Mr. Markiewicz, Virgin Australia offers the best option to corporate travelers, as it offers lower fares than Qantas.