From CBIA News, July/August 2002

Fly for less money, time and trouble

Advice for the business traveler

Cost-conscious businesses have been curtailing unnecessary business travel and taking other steps to keep travel costs down. 

According to American Express, business travel has picked up since it dropped off after 9/11, but business travelers are rebelling against the price of last-minute airline travel. They’re taking advantage of lower leisure-class fares that airlines began offering last fall to lure flyers back to the skies. 

“Companies are gradually returning to more normal levels of travel, but they’re less willing to pay top dollar for the convenience of last-minute planning,” says Pamela Arway, AmEx’s executive vice president for North American corporate travel. “More companies are mandating or encouraging use of nonrefundable air fares. Planning in advance for a trip and booking lower fares is becoming the norm for business travelers.”

How else can you save money on business trips involving air travel? The Web site of the National Business Travel Association (www.biztraveler.org) offers the following advice:

• Consider alternatives to traveling, such as video- or Web conferencing. And for trips that would involve flying time of only two or three hours, save money by taking a train or driving instead. The trip probably won’t take much longer, considering the waiting times at airports for security checks. In fact, many companies are coping with flight delays and longer travel times resulting from tougher airport security measures by consolidating meetings and increasing the use of car rentals, personal vehicles or trains for short-haul trips, according to a March survey of corporate travel managers conducted by the NBTA.

• If you must travel by air, try to extend a trip to include additional business to avoid the need for a second trip.

• Be flexible about flight times. A difference of a few hours in departure time may mean a lower airfare. And arriving the night before your business event or extending a trip to include a Saturday night stay might save enough on airfare to justify the additional hotel expense. 

• Check whether you might use a low-fare carrier or an alternative airport. 

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