Business Travel Tips

Visa premium cardholders can now take advantage of a new Airport Meet and Assist Service available at more than 20 airports in Asia Pacific, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.
With this service Visa is offering in partnership with EXTRA — a Singapore based leading provider of airport meet and assist services, ground transportation and related services — Visa premium cardholders will benefit from having fast track services at airport arrival and departure points.

They can make a reservation for the Airport Meet and Assist as well as Airport Transfer Services online, via e-mail or with just a phone call.
Upon arrival at airport, cardholders will be escorted from the gate through a fast-track customs and security check.
When departing, they will be escorted through customs and security, after designated personnel have managed their check-in process.

The airports where the service is available include: Bahrain ( Manama International Airport ); China ( Beijing Capital International Airport, Shanghai Pudong International Airport, Guangzhou Baiyun Airport ); Indonesia ( Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (Jakarta), Denpasar International Airport ); Korea ( Incheon Airport (Seoul) ); Kuwait ( Kuwait International Airport ); Malaysia ( Kuala Lumpur International Airport ); Oman ( Seeb International Airport (Muscat) ); Philippines ( Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Manila) ); Qatar ( Doha International Airport ); Saudi Arabia ( Jeddah International Airport, King Khalid International Airport (Riyadh), King Fahd International Airport (Damman) ); Singapore ( Changi International Airport ); Sri Lanka ( Bandaranaike International Airport (Colombo) ); Thailand ( Suvarnabhumi Airport (Bangkok), Phuket International Airport ); United Arab Emirates ( Abu Dhabi International Airport, Dubai International Airport ); United Kingdom ( London Gatwick Airport, London Heathrow International Airport ); Vietnam ( Hanoi Noi Bai Airport, Tan Son Nhat International Airport (Ho Chi Minh) ).

Continental Airlines will offer up to 10,000 bonus miles to OnePass members on nonstop flights between New York/Newark (EWR) and Shanghai, China.

Flyers must register for OnePass and fly on the route between March 25 and May 31.

They will able to earn:
- 10,000 bonus miles on all qualifying round trips purchased and flown in J, D or Z classes of service
- 5,000 bonus miles on all qualifying round trips purchased and flown in Y, B, M, H or K classes of service
- 2,500 bonus miles on a qualifying round trips purchased and flown in Q, U, V, G, W, E, S, T, N or L classes of service

Bonus miles do not count toward Elite qualification. For more details visit the continental.com page.

Carlson Wagonlit Travel will offer corporate travelers a new online booking facility for pre-booking airport parking.

That will be possible through an agreement Carlson Wagonlit Travel has signed with Business Travel Extras, a provider of airport parking.

Pre-booking airport parking with this booking facility could enable savings of up to 60 percent on gate rates. For example, pre-booking parking with Business Travel Extras at Heathrow for three days costs from £20.80. (source)

Many airlines have recently reconfigured their aircraft to install premium-economy seats. By offering seats wider and more legroom than coach seats, with affordable fares, premium-economy class is becoming a viable option for those business travelers who are cutting down on expensive business-class trips.

With a fee to upgrade from economy ranging from $30 to $2,000 round trip, premium-economy class seats are hundreds or thousands of dollars cheaper than business or first class ones. USA Today cites as an example British Airways‘ fares for a New York-London flight in February priced $170 round trip (not including fees and taxes): a premium-class ticket on this flight is $619, while the cheapest business-class fare costs $2,178.

The newspaper quotes industry executives saying consumer demand for premium-economy is relatively robust, as business travelers increasingly cut down on first- or business-class trips that can cost more than $10,000.

British Airways and Virgin Atlantic were pioneer in the concept of premium-economy, now many other carriers follow. United, Virgin America, BA’s subsidiary OpenSkies, JetBlue, Japan Airlines, and Qantas are among the many carriers that have installed, added or upgraded their premium-class seats in recent years.

As the quality of premium-economy seats can vary widely from carrier to carrier, when compared with coach seats, they are 5 inches to 8 inches longer in the distance between the seat back to the seat behind and about 1 inch to 4 inches wider. With premium-economy many carriers also offer better food, wine, and priority boarding.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said the number of passengers flying on premium tickets — first-class and business-class — worldwide fell 11.5 percent in November, The New York Times reports.

The newspaper quoted IATA as saying: “The low point for air travel has not yet been reached since the economic environment is still deteriorating“. (source)

As initially it was an air traffic slump linked to financial activities, now with industrial production and business confidence falling in major economies across Asia, Europe and North America, the decline in passenger numbers is also linked to manufacturing and other sectors.

- Regionally
Trans-Pacific routes, down 17.7 percent from a year earlier, were hurt most in November.
Premium traffic between Europe and Asia plunged by a 9.9 percent, trans-Atlantic routes recorded a 9 percent drop in the month.