AusBT and the Changing Business Travel Landscape

Hello,

Great question, and your situation will be an expanding part of the travel market, consultants or contractors are becoming more and more prevalent in Australia which has been slower than many  other countries to conduct business this way, therefore more and more will be questioning the value of a business fare and associated benefits. We have punted plenty off the books and they have come back to work for us on a contract basis,  it amazing the difference in mindset when it is their own money they are spending compared to when they travelled on the company Amex, i earn 700-800 SC a year, mostly short domestic flights in the cheap seats so yes I would like to see more stories on economy travel 

Add in the number of carriers dropping dedicated international First Class (UA being one of the latest) and the slow growth / acceptance and divergence of hard / soft Premium Economy. Also, as noted, changing attitudes to corporate travel budgets and policies sometimes means that what was once a large premium market is now often 'under review'.

This is an interesting discussion which I'd like to encourage further before we respond. That said, at this point I'd like to ask those who suggest that AusBT increase its coverage of 'economy travel' to describe exactly what type of 'coverage' they would wish to see from this – what sort of 'economy travel' stories they'd suggest would fit into our existing mix?

Good point, as domestic for me is economy only, maybe an article on the benefits that having gold/platinum/qantas club/virgin lounge membership gives when flying economy on routes outside of Australia, like within  Europe or within Asia.

Many thanks for opening this up. I think there I quite a bit of scope, David. Some of the issues I would consider of particular relevance to business travellers in Y could include:

1. A focus on availability of in-seat power in narrow-bodies ie: B737, B717, E-series and A320/1 fleets

2. A focus on availability of (in-flight & Airport / Terminal) WiFi services for all domestic services, given the poor response of the 2 majors and shifting promises.

3. Availability of entertainment (in-seat, overhead, supplied tablet, BYO) on disparate domestic fleets

4. The quality and scope of 'mobile' software apps (timetabling, sales, entertainment, FF etc) provided by domestic operators (happy to privately discuss further ideas on this particular issue, David)

5. More prominent coverage of Domestic Business Lounges (as opposed to International).

6. A greater range of domestic airport / terminal reviews - ie. quiet areas where the 'lounge-deprived' can access, available services, food outlets etc

7. New / increased / upgraded domestic route information

8. Tips and tricks for business travellers using Y Class

9. Check-in and In-cabin service standards reviews in Y

10. Domestic Y fare classes - pitfalls and promises .. ie: Y Class 101 for Business travellers

11. Best seats in Y

I don't suggest that AUSBT needs to radically alter it's current excellent formula, but it would be great to see some occasional articles with a focus on Y travel for the business travellers on here. Obviously not everyone is Plat1, Plat or even Gold but a large proportion are Silvers, many of whom have to deal with 'lowest fare of the day' corporate policies and relatively short sectors of less than 2-3 hours.

Premium economy focus would be fantastic though I tend to really look for a good J Class deal.

Thank you all for the input. I really appreciate it. I'd like to further elaborate on what I'd like to see too, both from my experience and those who I've talked to about economy class travel.

• Economy class trip reviews: I think we'd like to see what we are getting into before we pick an airline.
• Best seats in economy class
• Price deals
• What airlines (both low cost and legacy) offer businesses in terms of advantages (i.e. Jetstar and AirAsia both have programs for business customers)
• Airport guides for economy class passengers (What to do? Where to sit etc - especially for long haul layovers)
• Paid lounge access options around the world for economy class passengers
• Seat quality guides
• App reviews (both airline and third party like Hopper - i.e. the availability of mobile check in)
• Route announcements for low cost airlines
• Money saving tricks for those who are on budgets
• Budget hotel suggestions and maybe Airbnb coverage (it is the biggest provider of accomodation around the world now.)
• Getting to and from an airport for those of us on a budget
• Maximum bang for your buck guides
• Exclusive business-focused interviews with executives of low cost airlines on what they are doing for the budget traveller.
• Maximising SC guides for the economy class traveller
• Interviews with business owners and travellers about their travel habits, tips and tricks

These are what I can think of for now. I shall add more if I think of anything else.

Thank you.

Some of these are interesting points and I think would be terrific additions. Others I think are already accessible elsewhere or would be hard to achieve for a bespoke site like this (ie would be expensive to provide) unless third party content could be accessed. No harm asking though :))

I would also be interested in information from "aldrigsomandre" suggestions. 

Thank you for the input. I just have one question. You've written that Traveller.com.au does some of these things already. Is that a blocking factor for another site putting their own spin on it?

I think there should be high accuracy reviews of the full economy experience - from luggage allowance, to meals to seat design. It has been mentioned above that other sources e.g. traveller cover this information but I say they are not accurate and are filled with puff / overly positive. I think AusBT could approach the economy review from the angle what is the best all round value given one needs to work onboard and on disembarkation. Lowest price is not the best value and it would be good to know this, it would then help in justifying to clients one option over another. There could be consideration on the connection experience too.

Beyond this there could be some smart commentary or insights on how best to tolerate the experience during and after the trip. Jet lag / noise cancelling headphones / decent moisturisers.

Low Cost Carriers are also not all equal and often are the only choice to access manufacturing locations. What are the route news, what is the experience, what are the perks and personality which may not be clear from their websites?

I would also expand this to include reviews of mainline rail travel in the UK & Europe, North Asia and North America and those routes in Australia where rail is best e.g. Melbourne - Bendigo.

I find the balance of articles on the site OK - I certainly don't view AusBT as being solely about premium/first class travel. I understand the site to cater for business travellers which means the spectrum of travel from economy to F.