Airlines forced to rethink schedules after Covid-19 changes attitudes to business trips
- The environment, ticket prices, flight cancellations, staff shortages and a boom in online videoconferencing are undermining the single-day trip
- ‘The trend … is here to stay as travellers become more environmentally and fiscally conscious’, Asia-Pacific travel agent Akshay Kapoor says
Airlines around the world are ripping up schedules and bringing in new flights to cope with a Covid-triggered trend in corporate travel for executives – the scrapping of one-day business trips in favour of longer stays.
Industry data show business travellers are taking longer trips than before Covid-19, leaving airlines adjusting flight plans. Environmental concerns, rising ticket prices, increased flight cancellations amid staff shortages and a boom in online videoconferencing are all undermining the single-day trip option as an industry standard.
For Sydney-based executive, Jerome Harris’ exhausting one-day treks to Melbourne or Brisbane – a trip that included four taxi rides, two flights, extended waits and the risk of delays – are no more after a pandemic-driven reassessment of his travel habits.
“I’m happier to save the effort and the carbon and do a few days in a location and have time to meet up with multiple people and visit multiple projects,” said Harris, who works for an infrastructure company.
Corporate travel agency CWT said in global terms, the proportion of one-day domestic trips has fallen by more than 25 per cent compared with 2019 levels as online meetings grow in popularity.
In markets from Australia to the United States, airlines are having to adapt to maximise revenue. US carriers, for example, are adding more midweek flights as travellers take more trips that blend business with leisure, with many capitalising on greater flexibility to work remotely.