AIRLINES
IN CONVERSATION… Rob Ingram
BBT talks to Rob Ingram, director of business travel (Europe) at Enterprise Rent-A-Car
LA COMPAGNIE LAUNCHES ALL-BUSINESS LUTON- NEW YORK FLIGHTS
FRENCH ALL-BUSINESS CLASS AIRLINE LA COMPAGNIE is launching a London Luton to New York Newark service on April 24. The three-times weekly service will increase to daily
by the end of the year, and use a B757-200 aircraft with 74 lie-flat seats in a 2x2 configuration. Perks onboard include amenity kits with cosmetic
products from French skincare brand Caudalie and seasonal menus created by celebrity chef Christophe Langrée. Each seat is 46.5in tall, has a 26in width and a seat pitch of 62in, and includes a USB port, power outlet and individual light. Also provided are Samsung Galaxy Pro 12in tablets, which can be removed from the seat backs, pre-loaded with films, e-books, magazines and music. The airline said costs have been kept to a minimum to keep prices low, and there will be three flight attendants looking after the 74 passengers. La Compagnie has been operating its all-business class service between Paris Charles De Gaulle and New York Newark since July. The airline was established in October 2013 by
L’Avion founder Frantz Yvelin and former Swissair and Jet Airways COO Peter Luethi. Premium air travel feature, p55
HOTELS
Premier Inn rolls out free wifi in all hotels
PREMIER INN IS INTRODUCING COMPLIMENTARY WIFI throughout all of its UK properties. The group, which has 690 hotels across the UK and Ireland, said it will be available in all rooms and the hotel’s public areas. The free wifi, which is effective immediately, replaces the hotel’s previous offer of 30 minutes’ access. Premier Inn’s ‘Ultimate’ wifi upgrade, at £5 for 24 hours, is available for guests who want to stream films and catch-up TV, and download films.
BUYINGBUSINESSTRAVEL.COM Rob Ingram
Customers tend to think in terms of car brands rather than rental brands – so how do you differentiate from competitors, apart from price? If someone’s only talking about the car, we’ve done something wrong. It’s about the service – whether a frequent traveller wanting a touchless high- speed process, or someone wanting to be shown all the controls and talked through it. For corporate buyers, it’s about understanding their travel needs and building a bespoke programme for them.
So what are corporates looking for in their car rental programme? Travel buyers have been re- fining their car programmes over the years. I’ve been with Enterprise in the UK for 20 years – and I can see the average size of car rented for business travel has got smaller. That’s down to the policy. We configure the booking tools to clients’ corporate travel poli- cies. You can restrict what your traveller books,or highlight the preferred choice. Or you can have a two-tier system that emails the line manager for approval of certain types of cars or bookings.
Companies also want a good experience for their travellers…. That’s why we have both company and traveller profiles,
to avoid having to ask the business traveller questions. They don’t need to be asked if they want insurance cover or certain products. It should all be there in the profile – and they may not know the answer anyway. This is especially important in other countries where they don’t speak the language and are not sure what they’re being offered. Also by having the traveller profile and history on the system, it speeds up the whole process – as does being a member of the Enterprise Plus loyalty scheme.
How is the growing concept of ‘car-sharing’ affecting business travel? For corporates it’s more a managed pool-car scheme. We sit down with the customer and work out how they use their cars and get a balance of regular rentals and hourly car- share where needed. Some- times organisations have cars that sit around unused – that’s a wasted asset. Utilisation of vehicles is the most efficient aspect of savings.
What about companies’ so-called ‘grey fleets’ – private cars used for business? This has big potential for savings. The government has been very good at tackling this. The economy has helped push the issue to the forefront – people are looking for every opportunity to save. And it’s a significant area of growth for us. Insur- ance, vehicle safety, reputation of company, CO2 emissions – these are all unknowns, and therefore risks for companies. Also, look at the per-mile reimbursements on a long drive and the extra costs – we can help clients work out the ‘break-even’ mileage.
BBT MARCH/APRIL 2015 13
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