Business Travel Tips

Concerning the mass flight delays that hit hardest the Northeast of the United States yesterday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said that the situation around the country was returning to normal, with delays remaining in Atlanta and Chicago.

FAA spokeswoman, Kathleen Bergen in Atlanta, said the problem that occurred Tuesday afternoon involved a failure in a communication link that transmits flight plan data from the Georgia facility to a similar facility in Salt Lake City.
As a result, the Salt Lake City facility was having to process those flight plans, causing delays in planes taking off. She said the delays were primarily affecting departing flights.

Another FAA spokeswoman Diane Spitaliere, during an early evening conference call with reporters, said Tuesday’s glitch appeared to be a software problem and the situation was returning to normal, though the Hampton facility was not yet processing flight plans again. (source)

Beginning October 26, Qatar Airways will operate a non-stop daily flight on the Doha – New York route.
The airline also announced it will switch its existing six-flights-a-week between Doha and Newark Liberty International Airport, via Geneva, to New York’s JFK Airport.

Under the new schedules, Qatar Airways will no longer operate flights between Geneva and New York.

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said:

“We are now preparing to go daily with our brand new Boeing 777s featuring lie-flat Business Class seats from October and offer unprecedented levels of space and comfort, which will truly give us an edge over our competitors in the Middle East and around the world. The move to New York’s JFK Airport is in response to passenger demand flying to one of America’s premier airports on the US east coast.”

Starting December 8, Qatar Airways is to launch scheduled flights to Houston, which at 17 hours, will be one of the longest flights in the world non-stop from Doha. (source).

According to a report published today by American Express Business Travel, domestic and international airfares reached record levels in Q2 2008.

American Express’ quarterly AmEx Business Travel Monitor shows the average domestic airfare paid increased 10 percent year-over-year, as the second quarter of 2008 marked a seven-year high in the average airfare paid by business travelers.

The international airfare reached highest level in nearly a decade.

The average international one-way airfare paid during the second quarter of 2008 set a new record, at its highest level since the inception of the Business Travel Monitor in 1999.
With an 11 percent increase in the second quarter of 2008, over the same period in 2007, international airfares reached nearly $2,000, with a final average of $1,980.

 
The report also shows more business travelers choose coach. The percentage of international business class tickets purchased was at the lowest level since the third quarter of 2004 at 49 percent. Increases in the percentage of tickets purchased in other classes of service show that companies are employing strategies to encourage travelers to trade down to other classes of service. (source)

A survey conducted by spine-focused website SpineUniverse.com during the summer of 2008, reveals 88% of passengers who had flown in North America in the last year reported that they had neck or back pain after a typical flight on any of the major U.S. carriers.

The study shows 74% of passengers said they’d pay an extra fee for special seats with extra comfort that doesn’t give them back or neck pain. 75% of those passengers would be willing to pay up to $50 more; 20% would pay up to $100 more. (View full survey results)

SpineUniverse.com published a few tips by Alan Hedge, PhD, CPE, professor of ergonomics at Cornell University, to avoid back pain or neck pain while flying.

“Even if airlines don’t start using seats designed specifically for back and neck pain sufferers, there are some easy ways you can take care of your back and neck on a flight.

“If you are a neck pain sufferer, you can bring an inflatable air pillow with you. It won’t take up much room in your carry-on-especially important in air travel today-and it will provide good support for your head and neck while flying.”

“For back pain sufferers, try rolling a pillow, blanket, or sweater into a lower back support. It’s best if you can have one support on each side of your back. You may also want to try the BackJoy, a small seat orthotic that works really well.”

Beginning October 1 United Airlines will charge for food in its coach class cabin on translatlantic flights to Europe from Washington Dulles (IAD).

The airline is still studying the possibility to charge for food on other international routes.

Also, Travel Weekly reports prices will also go up $1 to $2 on food for sale in the cabin.
Starting from September 2, the airline will discontinue offering free snacks on its longer flights.