The credit crunch may have killed the impromptu holiday and impulse air flight, but budget airline easyJet today said it is more than making up for that by attracting business passengers who are trading down.

In the teeth of one of the deepest aviation recessions in history, easyJet is growing revenues per seat as it steals passengers from the likes of British Airways.

“We are seeing a flight to value,” said chief executive Andy Harrison,” and we are attracting business passenger who will not fly with Ryanair because they do not fly to primary airports. You won't see many businesses in this recession who have grown their underlying unit revenues by 14%.”

The airline said revenues per passenger in the October to December quarter rose to £54.66 from £45.76. That includes more than £10 per passenger for checked-in baggage charges as well as extra revenues of £8.68 for food and drink.

For the first time, easyJet has more than half its passengers originating from outside the UK, indicating the strength of its push into the Italian and Spanish domestic markets.