Can your company’s travel policy be counted upon to be agile enough to roll with the punches when global airlines adapt their own in-flight policies on the fly in 2018? If you are constantly on the road (and in the air) to drum up new business and tend to existing clients or suppliers in other countries, you’ll need to know that your in-house travel crew or corporate travel agency will have your back to smooth out any wrinkles that may occur.
The year has barely started and Virgin Airlines has already confirmed that it won't allow smart luggage on its aircraft if the batteries thereof cannot be removed. Naturally, each airline has the right to adapt its luggage policy as they see fit, but if you weren't aware of this change prior to arriving at the airport with your smart luggage all packed and no time to return home for another suitcase, it could seriously upset your travel schedule. Travellers had to deal with a similar inconvenience in 2017, when the United States of America instituted a cabin ban on laptops to and from certain countries, but passengers still had to ensure that their devices had enough battery life to be tested. Talk about a hassle.
When your business hinges on tight turnaround times at the airport, often with very slight margins for error in terms of departure and heading for that first all-important meeting, you need a travel reservations team who knows the drill. In these instances, it might be worth your company’s while to reconsider their budget to include priority boarding for instance. The most important thing, however, is that everyone has their ear to the ground and that timeline-altering airline policies are picked up on immediately and communicated to the travelling employee as soon as possible. If you can count on your team and your own in-house travel policy is agile enough to compensate for unexpected changes of plan, you should be fine.
Don’t get twisted into knots about the potential for some in-flight upheavals in 2018. Instead, be prepared for all eventualities. Contact TravelManor for a free consultation and advice on your current travel policy. Now is the time to take advantage of the unique skill set of a group of passionate, organised travel coordinators with the inside track on everything from hotel bookings to airline check-ins.
