Archive for the ‘business travel’ Category:
Spend Less Money Get More Travel
Picture credit: Wealth Informatics
The race to the bottom that everyone has been watching in the airline price wars may have finally ended. All the frills have been extracted, all the expectations have been dashed, and the glamour of the jet-age has all the luster of a drive-in movie. The bottom has been achieved.
The entire value chain, from airport taxes to hotel rooms and parking fees have happily stepped into the low-cost void, ready and willing to pick up the slack in airline prices. The taxi from my house to Seattle Tacoma airport costs more than the airfare to San Francisco. Three days of parking at the airport costs more than the taxi. Off lot parking is not much better. God forbid that hunger arrives at it’s destination before you do.
Now watch the prices start slowly creeping upward as airlines come back leaner and meaner subsidized by the pensions of their workers in the post-bankruptcy glory of the deregulation act of 1978. If American business has been accused of shortsightedness, the 25 year plan of the airline industry is pure brilliance – assuming it was a plan.
From USAToday:
A new American Express Business Insights study finds that spending on first- and business-class airline tickets increased by 9.1% and 5.4%, respectively, in the third quarter. But on the ground, travelers spent more of their dollars — an additional 10.5% — on economy lodging vs. only 2.2% more on luxury hotel accommodations in that time.
There are likely several reasons for the shift in spending patterns. Travelers are valuing the products on a “true value” basis. The value of business class treatment and comfort exceeds the value of luxury accommodations. Interesting.
The spending trend applies to traveling for business or leisure, the study indicates. ”It really speaks to the fact that (consumers are) so concerned about the airline experience that they’re willing to make the trade-off,” says Maryam Wehe, senior vice president of hospitality at Applied Predictive Technologies.
How much would a business passenger justify to shorten the air travel portion by 50% while also eliminating two overnight stays? At Social Flights, we can often provide a door-to-door travel experience that is 60% – 80% shorter in total time yet costs the exact same amount in dollar terms. Guess what – that’s what Social Flights can do for you. Social flights provides on-demand, direct, and comfortable private jet travel in a ride sharing form so that you get more travel for less money.