Business Travel Tips

Early indications are that 2008 for business travelers will be even tougher than 2007.
As improvements are not expected on what concerns flight delays — 2007 was the worst year ever in the United States, meanwhile, fares are continuing to rise. And to make the things even worse, most major U.S. airlines are planning to reduce domestic seating and flights.

That happens also because they are choosing to invest more on the profitable international routes.
Delta’s aggressive plan to expand internationally while shrinking domestically in the United States, is a fine example.

Edward Bastian, president and chief financial officer of Delta Air Lines, said, by the summer 41 percent of Delta’s available seats will be on international routes with its domestic capacity that will be down a full 10 percent over where it was just last year. However, by this summer, international capacity will be 77 percent higher than it was in the summer of 2005, he added.

- Airports
Many airports could be facing sharp cutbacks in service, unless those cities happen to provide what Bastian called “better asset flights”. Those are flights whose passengers are headed to a hub in the United States to make an international connection. “Domestic capacity is increasingly being pointed toward feeding international destinations,” he said.

- Spending in corporate travel is decreasing
Corporate travel managers and travel agents and some industry stock analysts are now expecting at least some cuts in U.S. domestic travel spending this spring.
(source)

Emirates has become the first major airline in the world to allow passengers mobile phone use in flight. Last Thursday, the first authorised mobile phone call on a commercial flight was made onboard an Emirates Airbus A340-300 aircraft equipped with the AeroMobile system.

Emirates say the service will only be activated when the aircraft is at cruising altitude and the cabin crew will have full control over the system. Among the restrictions, the number of calls may be limited and voice calls prevented at certain times such as during night flights.
Passengers also will be able to send and receive text messages, with charges in line with premium international roaming rates.

Emirates and AeroMobile are planning to add further features such as the ability for BlackBerry-type email and other GPRS data applications later in 2008. As the mobile phone use ban remains on Emirates aircraft where the AeroMobile system is not installed yet.

Many U.S. airlines that are focusing on business travel, particularly on the lucrative market of long-haul flight, are planning upgrades and offerings. However industry analysts and business travelers say American carriers will have to face a hard fight to win the loyalty of fliers in this segment.

As lie-flat and flat-bed seats, gourmet food and wine service, vast in-flight entertainment options and other amenities have become standard business-class fare, most of analysts say American carriers are many generations behind the best of the international airlines.
CNN compared price and seat-style of the majors U.S., international and business-class-only airlines for the route between New York and London, in the business-class segment.

AMERICAN AIRLINES
- Nonstop flights: American Airlines operates seven daily flights from New York to London. Six fly from John F. Kennedy International Airport to London’s Heathrow Airport and one goes from JFK to Stansted Airport. American is planning to add one flight to Stansted in August.
- Planes: Boeing 777s fly from JFK to Heathrow and 767s fly the route between JFK and Stansted.
- Seating specs: All New York to London flights offer American Airlines’ Next Generation Business Class with lie-flat seats that (more…)

D.C. area fliers can now take advantage of a TSA registered traveler program. Clear pass program was launched at Reagan National Airport and Dulles International Airport March 19.

The program, for a $100 annual membership fee, allows fliers a faster passage through airport security.

Clear members will be allowed to bypass what can be long lines of passengers waiting to enter the security screening area. However they are still required to take off their shoes, remove their laptops, have their bags X-rayed, and pass through a metal detector.
Clear is waiting for TSA approval of a shoe scanner that would eliminate that part of the process for its members.

On March 27 British Airways will start to move its flights to Terminal 5 of Heathrow.
The British carrier announced they have been sending regular communications to let passengers know about the move. Also British Airways built a comprehensive microsite to allow customers to familiarise themselves with the building and its facilities.

Domestic and European routes — except fligths to Nice, Helsinki, Barcelona, Madrid, and Lisbon — as well as intercontinental services to and from Tripoli, Johannesburg, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Miami will transfer to Terminal 5 on March 27.
The majority of remaining intercontinental flights are expected to move on April 30.