SilverSurfer Air or Brits Abroad Airlines

The transatlantic business-only carrier SilverJet probably didn’t have the over-55s in mind when it launched recently, but its name certainly has a handy ring to it, if Amadeus is to be believed.

The travel technology provider got a selection of journalists together over lunch today to unveil its Future Travel Tribes report.

The study, co-authored with the Henley Centre research group, has earmarked four key consumer groups that will have a massive impact on the airline industry in the next decade or so:

• Active Seniors (older global population will travel)
• Global Clans (migrant communities expected to reach 250 million by 2020)
• Cosmopolitan Commuters (work in London, live in Berlin, for example)
• Global Executives (frequent travelling businesspeople, especially from the BRICs)

As well as – rather obviously – pitching itself as the key technology provider for systems it says will be needed in the future, Amadeus reckons completely new airlines (or offshoots of existing carriers) will emerge solely to target the new groups.

The mind boggles:

Grey Air? ExPat Airways?

Of course the business community is already being served by a handful of exec-only (priced?) carriers, but airlines dedicated to particular markets does sounds rather intriguing.

In the meantime there is a rather hefty report to wade through, so more to come, we suspect…

Kevin May, editor, Travolution