How often do you travel by air, rail, road and sea?
Do you enjoy travelling? What don't you enjoy about it?
Put the following in order of importance to you when you travel.
comfort
safety
price
reliability
Does the order of priorities change for different types of travel?
Cabin
Luggage
Cancellations
Queues
not enough leg . . . . . . . . .
lost or delayed . . . . . . . .
long . . . . . . . . . . . . at check·in
poor quality. …… and drink
no baggage .. available
checks food
seats
jet
room trolleys
6 overbooking of . . . . . . . . . . .
7 flight delays and . . . . . . . . . . . .
8 tiredness and . . . . . . . . . . . . Iag
9 delays for security . . . . . . . . . . .
10 oversized hand luggage in the .
My last overseas business trip was a nightmare from start to finish. First of all, there
was a delay on the way to the airport, as there was an accident on the . f.y. I. When I
got there, I found the lower level of the airport . . . . . . . . . . . . 'was flooded. Next, my . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
was too big and heavy, so I had to check it in. When we arrived, the
. . . . . . . . . ' was closed, and there were no cabs at all. After a long time trying to figure out
the . . . . ' and waiting in . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 for 40 minutes, we finally got a bus .. .
and found the hotel. Then there was a problem with our room .
. . . . . . .
.
.
.
. 8 and, would you
believe it, the . . . . . . . . . . . ' wasn't working, and our rooms were on the fifth floor.
Location of hotels
Good links with underground networks
Close to the airport
Totally non·smoking
Good restaurant
Close to client's office
Technology Internet Business centre
Swimming pool
Translation services
Free transport to hotel
Job
Nationality
travel destinations
amount of air travel
choice of class
choice of airline
likes
dislikes
travel to airport
hotel requirements
Counting the ways to bridge the gulf
As more carriers open up more routes,
travelling to and around the Middle
East has never been easier.
Edmond Moutran, the 63-year-old
Chairman and Chief Executive
of Memac Ogilvy & Mather, the
multinational advertising and
communications company, should
know.
The Lebanese execut.ive reckons he spends 60% of his
working week in the air.
'I spend 200 days in Beirut, 40 days in Dubai,
40 days in Bahrain and 25 in the
UK.
I also spend one week in each
of Cairo, Jordan, Jeddah, Riyadh,
Kuwait, Tunis and Algeria. I go to
South Africa once a year, Barcelona
once or twice a year for conferences and I go to Paris four times a year.
He says his choice of airline is
dictated by convenience, but his
preference is for Middle East Airlines
and its 'new aircraft and equipment,
and well-trained, fresh and energetic
staff'.
His second choice is Gulf
Air, with Emirates third, followed by British Airways and Air France.
He always travels with his wife.
Liliane, who worked with him
30 until very recently, and prefers to
travel first class. He also uses businessclass.
He says he will travel economy
'in an emergency' .
He uses airline lounges. 'I want good chairs, plenty of newspapers and
television.
Airlines that spend millions
on decor and have uncomfortable
chairs really need to look at
themselves.'
'MEA gets me a car to the airport
and they open a special counter for
me as an individual,' he says.
'Staff
take your boarding pass, check you in
and walk you through to the lounge.
The airline saves me about an hour of
standing in line.
It shows real respect
.
You don't really get this extraspecial
treatment on other airlines.
With MEA, it's the whole process that's why I ' m so loyal to them.'
So what annoys him most about
Hying? '
The attitude of crew and staff sometimes,' he says. 'If they're
tired of their jobs, they should give il up.
I also dislike the casual
attitude of ground staff.
Employees
should be trained to cope with
customers who have problems.'
Mr Moutran says that problems with ground staff are one of the reasons he
hales (ravelling to the US. 'No one ever has time answer a question
there,' he says.
He also doesn't like
the lack of openness shown by airlines
when there are problems and delays.
I don't always pay a lot of money and I try to avoid . . . . . . . . . . . . '.
However, I do travel a
lot, earn . . . . . . . . . . . . ' and usually gel an . .. . . . . . . . . ) to first class.
The airline gets me a car to the airporl.
I am met by helpfuL . . . . . '. T
they take my . . . . . . . . . . . > and help me
. . . . . . . . . .. . '.
Then they take me to the . .... . . . . . . 7 , where I read the newspapers.
A Have you decided where to hold the sales conference?
B Yes, we . . . . . . . . . . book the Emory Centre in Atlanta.
A I can't find my passport.
B OK, you look in your bag, and I . check the back seat of the car.
A What are you planning to do in Tokyo?
B We . . . . . . . . . . meet our agent to discuss next year's advertising budget.
A I'm afraid the flight's been cancelled.
B I need to get there tonight. I . . . . . . . . . . . take the train. I think it leaves at nine.
A The Hertz counter is a good place to meet.
B OK, I . . . . . . . . . . . wait for you there.
ANSWERING THE
PHONE
Hello, Carla
Rodriguez speaking.
Good morning, Tiger
Ltd.
MAKING CONTACT
I'd like to speak
to Martin Krause,
please.
Could I have the
sales department,
please?
BTS provides a full range of corporate travel
services.
We are highly experienced in handling
the requirements of teday's business traveller.
Among our many clients are multinational
companies which are household names.
Our travel consultants work to produce top-value
fares and the best itineraries to suit the needs
of your staff.
We will minimise your expenses
by arranging your staffs travel at the right
price, getting additional discounts for you and
establishing direct contact with the best service
providers.
All our overseas partners are selected
because of their high standard of service, attention
to detail and quality of product.
The Head of Travel at NeoTech phones the Account
Manager of BTS to set up a meeting, so that they
can discuss the problems that executives have had
while on business trips.
What I really don't like is the way airlines treat people on the plane.
'There are far too many scats on most planes, so there's not enough
legroom, and I'm not even particularly tall!
J always try and get the
seats near the emergency exit for that reason - you get much more
room.
Aha, the poor-quality food and drink you get on airlines
annoys me.
It's aU so processed and packaged, I just can't cat it. I
prefer trains!
2 I like flying, but I really don't enjoy being at airports. 'Things like long
queues at check-in irritate me. Also, when I have a lot ofluggage and
there arc no baggage trolleys around, it's really inconvenient. What's
even more frustrating is when I do find a trolley and then see that the
departure board is full of flight delays and canceilatiol1s.
3 I must be really unlucky because it seems I'm always a victim of lost
or delayed luggage. It usually turns up, but never with an apology.
I don't like the attitude of the airlines, and J'm sorry, they're all the
same. They seem to treat passengers like just another piece ofluggage
to be moved around the world, They seem to forget that we're
people. For example, they overbook scats and just expect people to
be able to get the next flight if their flight is full. What I really hate,
though, is jet lag. It's a big problem for me, as I travel a lot to the Far
East on business,
COlTRACK 8
My last overseas business trip was a nightmare from start to finish.
First of all, there was a delay on the way to the airport, as there was
an accident on the freeway. When 1 got there, I found the lower level
of the airport parking lot was flooded. Next, my carry-on baggage
was too big and heavy, so I had to check it in. When we arrived, the
subway was closed, and there were no cabs at all. After a long time
trying to figure out the schedule and waiting in line for 40 minutes,
we finally got a bus downtown and found the hotel. Then there was
a problem with our room reservation and, would you believe it, the
elevator wasn't working, and our rooms were on the fifth floor.
COl TRACK 9 (I = INTERVIEWER, 55 = SHOLTO SMITH)
I '<Vhat arc the main needs of business travellers, and how do your
hotels meet them?
55 A key point would be the location of our hotels, um) good links with
um subway underground networks, close to the airport, um, and
obviously close to an oAice that the guest h'ould be working in while
they're staying in the hotel. Urn, technology is :1.lso a key feature, and
nowadays it's expected because obviously people have, um, great
technology at home and therefore ifit's also available in a hotel, that's
also, um, a key feature. Um, Internet, a business centre, um, obviously
translation services and that kind of faCility is also, is paramount, and
guests also expect an area where they can, er, go to a gymnasium,
they can exercise, um, and also that kind of thing. These would be the
key features.
COl TRACK 10 (I = INTERVIEWER, 55 = SHOLTO SMITH)
I And how have rising travel costs affected the hotel business?
55 Er, they have aA'ected business, but it's made the hotels more savvy
in that they arc being more competitive and looking at ways of
adding value to the guests' stay, and that can take in anything from,
um, including breakfast, urn, on a daily basis, membership to, to the
health club, er, including newspapers or pOSSibly looking at, um, you
know, transportation to and from the airport, a shuttle service to the
local department store or a shuttle service to the offices in which
the client, um, works in, urn and that kind of, that value-add benefit,
as opposed to just directly dropping the rate, which reall), doesn't
benefit either party.
COl TRACK 11 (I = INTERVIEWER, SS = SHOLTO SM ITH)
I \'\'hat future developments do yOll foresee in the business travel
market?
55 Future developments in the business travel market?