British airline Virgin Atlantic is now focusing its efforts to attract business class travelers, according to BBC. The rise of the budget, no-frills airline has caused a slump in coach ridership among the bigger airlines in the recent half decade, with much losses, even in the business riders and higher market segments. Even business travelers opted for cheap fares, especially in short routes.
Virgin Atlantic, though, is aiming for a growth in ridership in the business class by at least ten percent over the next year. To this end, the company is revamping its services to include better accommodations across all classes, including economy. It is thought that big airlines could not compete with the no-frills independent carriers in terms of price, since the latter have lower overhead costs. In this case, the big carriers compensate for the higher fares with better services and accommodation, such as improved check-in facilities and in-flight luxuries.