News STATISTICS IN CONVERSATION… Rob Greyber, president, Egencia
Paul Revel catches up with Egencia president Rob Greyber, in London celebrating the TMC’s tenth anniversary
anywhere in the world quickly and affordably. These two trends will continue to shape the industry.
Talking of
BRITONS MAKING MORE BUSINESS TRIPS ABROAD
FIGURES RELEASED BY the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show there were 7 million business trips overseas for the year ending October 2012, up from 6.7 million for the previous 12 months. The number of business trips between August and October also
increased by 1 per cent to 1.76 million. Business travel continued to outperform the outbound leisure market, which was down by 1 per cent to 36.4 million trips for the same period. The figures show the corporate travel market accounts for 12.4
per cent of all overseas trips by UK residents. Business trips to the UK from overseas residents rose by 1 per cent to 7.22 million for the 12 months to the end of October.
globalisation, how do Rob Greyber
What’s changed in travel management
IN BRIEF 10 1
■ SHENZHEN AIRLINES has been officially inaugurated into Star Alliance, joining stakeholder and Chinese flag carrier Air China. The airline brings 400 daily flights and 70 destinations to the Star Alliance network, including new routes from Shenzhen airport to five Chinese cities: Juzhou, Linyi, Qinhuangdao, Shijiazhuang and Zhoushan. Shenzhen Airlines’ entry into Star Alliance followed Chinese carrier Xiamen Airlines’ integration into Skyteam in November last year.
AIRLINES
BCA: NEW BRIGHTON TO PARIS SERVICE
START-UP CARRIER Brighton City Airways (BCA) has announced plans for a new twice- daily service between Shoreham airport near Brighton, and Pontoise airport, located 16 miles northwest of Paris. The flights are scheduled to launch on March 6, and will be operated by 19-seat LET-410 turboprop aircraft, with a seat pitch of around 29 inches. BCA says it will offer a 15-minute check-in, and complimentary tea or coffee in a VIP lounge. The carrier’s website also states that: “The aircraft is not equipped with toilets, so it is important to bear this in mind before boarding!” Fares start from £69 one-way including
taxes, credit card fees and 6kg of hand luggage; hold luggage can be purchased separately at £10 per one-way flight.
in the ten years since Egencia’s inception? It’s extraordinary what’s been accomplished and what’s changed – the growth of tech in enterprises, and how internet-enabled technology has changed the way business gets done. In 2002 it was still coming into its own and hadn’t been broadly adopted, and aspects of technology were still coming into maturity.
What do you see as the significant trends
in business travel? First, the word ‘consumerisation’ is bandied about a lot. It reflects the flow of technology being reversed: instead of from office to home, it began to flow the other way, from the consumer space to the business sphere – the iPad and smartphones being the best examples of this. It’s better for travellers but also for travel managers – you don’t have to be a schoolmaster, telling employees what to adopt; you just give them the tools they want to use. I think that trend is going to continue.
The second trend I see is the continuation of globalisation. I had a professor at graduate school who said the two great catalysts of the 20th century were the semiconductor and the B747 – the ability to move information and things
you compete with the biggest TMCs on a global level? The Egencia Global Alliance network allows us to extend our
footprint – it’s been very effective. As we’ve grown to have a presence in 55 countries, it’s no secret we are client-led. We’re thoughtful about relationships with clients and where they want to expand. We’re in all of the key markets around the world today, but we don’t have a desire to plant flags everywhere – we have to be very selective, and this has been our deliberate approach in the last five years.
Do you see the travel buyer’s
role changing? It’s already changed remarkably – we’ve seen a shift from buyers articulating policy to driving initiatives; it’s more action- oriented. It’s an expanded role but, also, the quality of role has changed. I talk to travel managers today and they say they want results, not just clever policy. When I joined Egencia [from Expedia] five years ago, a travel manager told me she had been called into the CFO’s office, who was very critical about her work. She said: “I went back to my desk and called up Egencia reports, did the analysis, and walked back into his office and gave him what for: ‘You’re wrong and here’s why.’” That level of accountability and insight she could provide to the CFO was pretty compelling, and enabled by our technology. This is not a passive role – it’s a dynamic role that’s data driven.