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Ancillaries
GOING THE EXTRA MILE
As corporate belt-tightening bites into all-in luxury travel, there is a growing demand from business travellers for airport ancillaries. Gary Noakes reports
IT’S NOW SIX YEARS since the start of the recession, a period long enough for business travellers to adjust to a more puritanical regime. The green shoots of economic recovery have been slow to sprout, but meanwhile a range of products to help cushion the ban on business class travel has emerged. Buyers who enforce a ‘no premium flight’ policy now have the discretion to purchase the components of premium travel, whether it be valet parking, lounges or fast-tracking
through airports. Despite an urge to make savings, cost is not always the overriding factor, with buyers citing the overall value in terms of time- saving, duty of care considerations and any increase in productivity being just as important. Mike Butcher, travel buyer at telecoms giant Alcatel-Lucent, believes there are savings to be made, but warns: “There is a limit to what you can do; most of the elements of the cost savings will be around short- haul travel.”
Alcatel has a ‘no business class’ policy below six hours, except for exceptional circumstances. “We took a view with things like lounges that, if staff have frequent flyer points that get them in, all well and good, but we are not going to pay for them. There are offerings through the TMC [travel management company] if we want to use them, but, frankly, we don’t want to offer most of the add-ons because they add value to the traveller but not to the business.”
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