European business travelers buy 50 percent more train tickets. Cancellation rate for business flights increased tenfold. Flight bookings remain virtually unaffected by the ash cloud.

Due to the closing-off of airspace following the volcano eruption in Iceland, European business travelers have mainly resorted to the railways. At the peak of the crisis at the beginning of this week, the number of booked train tickets was fifty percent above regular volumes. These days, cancellations of flight tickets due to airport closings have risen tenfold in comparison to the average. However, the temporary closings had virtually no impact on general flight-ticket booking behavior. It appears that business travelers in Europe do not allow the current interruptions to air traffic to affect their future travel plans. On average, business flights are booked 17 days in advance.

The AirPlus Business Travel Index is based on the evaluation of more than 100 million business-travel bookings per year carried out by over 33,000 companies worldwide.