United Kingdom

 

Short-haul business travel in the UK

The profile of short-haul domestic business travel is changing rapidly. What does this mean for your programme?

 

Many business travel programmes and travellers are set to benefit from improved short-haul rail and air travel options in the UK in 2013.

  

Low-cost, or ‘no-frills’ carriers have focused on luring lucrative corporate traffic in recent years, while UK carriers such as British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have recently begun to expand their domestic route networks.

 

How to create a cost-effective domestic travel programme

• Know your relative market share on a route – an airline might be willing to offer a lower corporate rate if it believes a company is able to move their rail traffic to air – or vice versa – which could mean significant cost savings

• Watch out for ancillary charges, which are often purchased via expenses rather than through the travel booking. Ancillaries can make some fares more expensive than first thought, so add items such as airport transfers or parking charges to a fare when calculating total cost

• Encourage travellers to be more flexible with departure points; an alternative option may be cheaper

• Look for niche airlines who focus on regional airports – these suppliers have increasingly played a key role in servicing business travellers whose journey does not involve London

• Use preferred suppliers – the higher the volume of business a company can commit to an airline, the higher the discount will be

 

But don’t forget the travel stress factor... Delays and inconvenient departure or arrival times are the fourth and fifth most stressful factors for frequent business travellers according to CWT’s Travel Stress Index. Rail travel has an advantage over air on both counts. Moreover, the majority of office locations are in city centres – as are rail terminals.

 

A shift to rail travel could also help companies meet their carbon reduction targets, with CWT’sTotal Impact Report showing certain journeys in the UK are more sustainable when the plane is swapped for the train.

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