Contrary to popular perception, most firms shun the pointy end of the aircraft when they send executives on business trips, a survey finds.

Only 10 per cent of companies chose business class when booking work trips, a survey by Visa and the Victorian Employers’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VECCI) found.

Of the remaining 90 per cent, 43 per cent said they always booked economy class and 47 per cent said they opted for the lowest airfare available.

“The days of business travel being seen as a reward are long gone,” says Visa general manager Australia, NZ and South Pacific Chris Clark.

“Today’s business traveller is likely to be juggling a laptop and a PDA (personal digital assistant) in economy and taking shorter trips.”

Mr Clark said while the survey found business confidence had deteriorated over the March quarter, travel was still viewed as a necessary part of conducting business.

Most companies surveyed said they expected to maintain or increase their overall travel budgets this year.

Half of the businesses surveyed said they expected to maintain the same level of expenditure on travel in 2008 as they did last year, while 22 per cent expected to spend more.

The survey, which was undertaken among 500 business respondents in Victoria during the March quarter, found that nearly one-third of executives considered business travel stressful.

Some 69 per cent said they disliked spending time away from home.

Only 15 per cent said they considered business travel a reward.

Nearly 70 per cent of businesses expect to maintain or increase spending on entertainment and hospitality this year, while 21 per cent expected to spend less.

When wining and dining clients, 31 per cent of those surveyed said they spend an average of $51 to $75 per person, while 18 per cent spend less than $50 per head

Only seven per cent said they spend more than $100 per head.

© 2008 AAP

RESIDENTS of Australia’s red centre may see Boeing’s new fuel-efficient 787 Dreamliner in action before much of the rest of the world.

Boeing is looking at Alice Springs as a possible site for its flight-testing program.

While a final decision has yet to the made, 787 program chief Pat Shanahan said yesterday that Alice Springs was being considered for tests of the new airliner’s ability to cope with hot weather.

It would be part of a wider flight-test program involving six aircraft and scheduled to get under way from the fourth quarter of this year.

Other flight-test locations include Roswell in New Mexico, Bolivia, Iceland and Alaska.

Mr Shanahan said the flight tests, particularly those involving the crucial first aircraft, would allow Boeing to understand the structural and aerodynamic behaviour of the aircraft.

He said Boeing was hoping that the flight tests would result in minimal changes, though he cautioned that it could also throw up “potential discoveries”.

“If we’ve got a good airplane it will fly well; if we have a crop duster we’ll discover it,” he said.

Mr Shanahan’s comments came as Boeing allowed media to see for the first time the 787 production line at its giant factory at Everett, near Seattle.

The ambitious program to build the world’s first mostly composite aircraft is at least 15 months late because of problems with the manufacturer’s global supply network.

Boeing is now due to deliver its first aircraft to All Nippon Airways in the third quarter of next year, and the company plans to build just 25 aircraft next year, significantly down from the 109 originally planned by the end of 2009.

Qantas is the world’s biggest customer for the new plane and has 65 firm orders for a combination of 250-seat 787-8s and bigger 787-9s.

It has made the 787 a major plank of its future strategy and was supposed to get the first plane in August.

The delays mean it will not receive its first plane until late next year and 787-9s will not arrive until 2012 — changes that are expected to result in the airline receiving several hundred million dollars in compensation from Boeing.

Mr Shanahan confirmed that the US aerospace giant was looking at ways to ramp up production, which could cut down delays for some customers, but said this was unlikely to help Air New Zealand and Qantas get their 787-9s before 2012.

“We built the schedule back in April and that’s the schedule that we’re working to,” he said.

Asked when the company expected production to catch up, he said Boeing was running studies on lifting production rates, but this was still probably four or five years away and decisions did not have to be made “this weekend”.

He also said he hoped to lock in a configuration for the still-bigger 787-10, demanded by Qantas and Emirates, about a year from now. “We’re still studying the market.”

Overall, he believed the program was in a much better condition than it was six months ago and would be in better condition still in three months.

“We’ve put together a production system and the people in Everett are determined and have the will to get the job done,” he said.

The program reaches a major milestone next month when power will be connected to systems on the first aircraft. Mr Shanahan said this was when the 787 became an aircraft and not just a collection of wires and structures.

“I don’t expect any surprises,” he said. “I feel really good about this commitment in our progress.”

Qantas announced that it would increase its international and domestic fares for tickets issued in Australia from 4 June onwards.

Qantas CEO, Geoff Dixon said that international and domestic fares would increase by 4 per cent and 3 percent respectively.

“Oil and jet fuel prices continue to break records, with West Texas Intermediate spot crude oil passing US$134 a barrel overnight and Singapore Jet Fuel today trading at nearly US$166 a barrel.�

Mr Dixon said Qantas had increased its fuel hedging and now had cover for 59 per cent of expected crude oil requirements in 2008/09 at $US111.81 a barrel WTI, Inclusive of option premium.

“Despite our hedging activities, fare increases, surcharges, and strong focus on managing costs across our operations, we will not cover these higher fuel costs, which at current prices will add more than A$2 billion to our fuel bill in 2008/09.
“We are continuing to target further efficiency improvements which now include a review of the network and schedules of Qantas, QantasLink and Jetstar,� Mr Dixon said.

BCD Travel has identified a wide variation in the degree of success achieved by corporations in Asia Pacific as they adopt online booking programs. Companies typically decide to introduce online booking tools in order to better manage travel costs and improve productivity for staff, while strengthening travel policy compliance and effectiveness, notes BCD Travel. Yet unclear corporate program objectives and inadequate assessment of internal and external barriers can impede the usage of these technology tools and at times lead to disappointing adoption results and higher costs to the corporate customer.

BCD Travel has developed a set of guidelines which its corporate customers use as they prepare to launch an online booking program or to enhance an already existing online program. Roger Pfund, general manager and vice president, Asia Pacific Operations, says, “Objectives for moving a travel program online vary by customer. We know that not every customer program is the same, from the initial launch objectives to program maturity. Not surprisingly, the ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach just doesn’t work when it comes to implementing an online booking platform and driving adoption.”

“Consequently, we have developed an approach that draws on our experience in Asia Pacific and from lessons learned from our extensive online experience in other regions where BCD Travel operates, to help a customer better understand, plan and execute a successful online program. An online program must harmonise with a corporation’s overall travel program objectives, and be supported by a detailed framework that improves the success of adoption and meets efficiency goals,” says Pfund.

BCD Travel has identified a number of key tactics that a corporation should undertake as it considers an online booking program:

• Apply a readiness assessment to evaluate whether the company’s travel program maturity and corporate culture are conducive to an online booking environment.
• Consider the overall travel program objectives and determine how moving online meets these objectives.
• Ensure the company has a formal change management process in place to facilitate the online adoption growth rate
• Determine whether travel suppliers in the markets to be included distribute content which is easily accessible on the online booking tool
• Consider the limitations of various online booking tools and identify the one that best suits the company’s business practices
• Decide whether the online adoption strategy is realistic and will meet travel program objectives

According to Pfund, “Moving to a successful program requires the support and investment from many key stakeholders and we assist our clients in more realistically identifying and setting their expectations. Going online is not an end in itself, but rather a means to lower program costs, increase compliance to travel policy, better utilize preferred vendors and sustain higher levels of user satisfaction and productivity.”

BCD Travel simplifies and streamlines the corporate travel process, helping companies manage and control the movement of their people, information and resources. The company focuses on implementing an integrated, seamless technology platform throughout all global locations to provide full access to and analysis of travel data for its clients. Clients can take advantage of BCD Travel’s presence and technology infrastructure to track every trip, every traveler, and the costs incurred throughout every journey.