[Adrialla]

“Does it bode well for employee morale if the employer is perceived to be cheap?”

I agree with Carajillo2Sugar. Employees, especially those who have not had an increase in their salaries in years, watch corporate spending like hawks. Nothing can demoralize employees more than seeing the company hemorrhage money on ridiculous, overpriced travel expenses. I have heard our company’s travelers say, “If I have to travel away from home for 3 days, I’m going to be as comfortable as possible.” It seems corporate travel has become a luxurious perk rather than a necessity.

When I have to book travel on an airline that costs TWICE the amount of another, just so the traveler can garner a particular airline’s points to apply to a vacation, I want to wretch. Corporations have a duty to their employees to be good guardians of the finances; not treat the company like their personal bank.

No employee with half a wit would consider their company as being “cheap” for saving on travel expenses. Rather they would feel assured that those at the helm have working brain cells and sound financial acumen. And maybe there might be something left in the coffers to reward their employees for a job well done.

[seasonedtraveller]

Carajillo2Sugar – 30/07/2015 10:21 BST

It seems your original question is somewhat skewed to make BA look more expensive.
MAN to EWR in December in Business, BA £2800, United £2794, AA (to ORD) £3,083

However, to answer your question, there are several factors which influence my decision:

Flight timings – depends where I need to be & at what time – When I fly to Scandinavia for example, BA is almost twice the price of SAS from Manchester. I have to leave home at the same time but with BA, it’s direct & SAS is via CPH meaning that with the more expensive flight, I get to spend the afternoon in the office but with SAS, it’s straight to the hotel at 4pm.

Status with airline – means a lot when you are travelling almost daily – within North America, I usually fly to a different city each day for 10-12 days, & something simple, like early boarding (via status) means I have room enough for my luggage without the need to check it in)

Ability to book single connecting tickets ie with allied airlines like BA/AA – delays & missed connections are handled much easier.

Length of layover – saving $100 might mean a 4 hour layover

Comfort on board – I would much rather sit on a BA777 to ORD than an AA757

Having said that, if BA for example, were twice the price of LH on the same route, same time etc, then there is no way I’m going to book the more expensive ticket.

Like a lot of us on here, I have to adhere to an expense policy & annual budget and there are questions to be answered if I go beyond at any time.

And, don’t get me started on BA tier points!!!

San Diego to Philadelphia via Dallas and Tampa (not same day but a single ticket) in economy, ticket cost approx $555 – tier points 15 (5 per sector)

Phoenix to Philadelphia in First, ticket cost $400 – 210 tier points

Work that one out???

[canucklad]

So I get Adrialla’s emotive gut wrenching point about employees deliberately choosing travel options that ultimately can be used for personal benefit …….But only if the choices made , are made when the employee is aware that their companies finances are precarious.

Totally agree with AD, too many UK companies travel policies are designed to wrongly reward the haves, at the expense of the have not’s …..

And even within companies, bizarre de-facto travel policy and expenses sub plots emerge. Sales and Marketing seem to spend money like an Oil Sheikh, whilst other teams are bullied by their covertly incentivized manager to treat every corporate penny like a prisoner.
Those managers tend to micro manage every expenses claim, and do indeed pitch working away from home as Massive Perk…. And in my career, I’ve worked for quite a few of those people. Including one who ensured her departments travel costs were all purchased using her own AMEX…….I wonder why ?

So Adrialla, my gut wrenched when, upon realizing I held Gold Card’s, she attempted to ban use of such cards in her department. Her justification was simple, her people who didn’t travel (mainly through choice) didn’t have access to the perks I had accumulated, and she wanted everybody in her department to be the same…..and since we all got paid the same salary, she saw my points as a salary supplement.

She didn’t see me sitting in the T1 lounge on a Friday night crossing my fingers, as snow threatened my whole weekend with my family.
She didn’t see me sitting like a lonely sad sack in a impersonal hotel bar , watching a football game I’ve no interest in, purely because it was better than staring at a hotel rooms clinical walls.
She didn’t see me , leaving my local on a Sunday afternoon to head to the airport, whilst all my friends were busy having a great time.
Nor did she see my sad eyes, as I re-assured my girlfriend that the kids would be great in the Xmas panto…..And I could go on…….

And saddest of all, she didn’t wipe my tears away, when my relationship ended, thanks in no part I’m sure, to the time I spent working away , generating wealth and thus helping make my company the success it is.

So be warned Adrialla, grab the sick bag. If BA is more expensive than someone else, I’ll think of my Avios , but more importantly, I’ll firstly think of family in Vancouver……I’m worth it !!

[JohnnyFox]

It’s really because those headline fares are not the ones the corporates actually pay – in most businesses there’s a deal done with the airline which rebates, typically, up to 35% of the revenue at the end of the financial year. They may also do special ‘route deals’ which further improve discount on itineraries their staff use very frequently.

Purchasing managers and decision-makers can also be targeted by the airlines with ‘incentives’.

[Carajillo2Sugar]

seasonedtraveller – I was comparing like-for-like flexible/refundable tickets and so if that makes BA expensive it’s because they are (unless you have access to a generous corporate deal).

I agree about timings, status and single-ticket connections but, with the alliances (eg BA/AA/US), you will generally have both and still save £2k per trip. As I said before, is the difference in comfort really worth paying almost twice the price?

As for Tier Points, that’s worthy of a dissertation!

[Author]

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