Overseas travel for work

[aus_flyer]

Just curious

 

[oz_mark]

I theoretically have options to get to business class. While they are in the policy getting anyone at a sufficiently high level in the company to sign off on it is virtually impossible.

 

[Maca44]

My staff travel ecomony for domestic flights, and everything over 3 hrs in business class. They accumulate points and can use them for upgrades etc, however, as its my business it would be rare for me not to fly business. Its good to be the king.

 

[dajop]

J - except NZ. Company rule is 6hrs or longer - allowed to fly in J.

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

You need an option for economy but upgrade at own cost ($ or points or find cheaper fare than economy).

 

[NM]

For me there is no straight answer. My company's travel policy is for economy travel for everyone below VP level. However, business class can be used with VP approval. That approval only comes after significant justification and is not common.

On a few occasions I have paid the difference between economy and business class. On other occasions I have had VP approval and travelled in paid business class. On many occasions I have purchased economy fares and try to use points or UCs to upgrade if possible.

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

NM - your answer better reflects my situation as well.

 

[JohnK]

Company policy was for anything over 5 hours you fly business class. :shock: Never eventuated.

When you work for company that only ever looks at bottom line then business travel is way to expensive. They also wanted employees to fly in their own time even if it was public holidays. Soon fixed that by claiming and receiving time offin lieu for all company related travel. No way would I travel to Singapore in cattle class on flight that arrives at 4:00 and be expected to work 10 hours that day. I remember a couple of years back flew to BKK on Easter Sunday worked Easter Monday and flew back Anzac Day. Company thought I was a saint until I requested 3 days of in lieu and actually was granted them as well.

 

[serfty]

You need an option for economy but upgrade at own cost ($ or points or find cheaper fare than economy).

I concur, but I answered whY anyway.

 

[bigjobs]

I could not reply to the poll question - perhaps it has expired.

i travel business class when the travel is over 5 hours in one day. all of the airfares are paid for by the client and it is our policy to have our people fly in business if they travel more than 5 hours in one day.

it is alot easier to make this happen when we have someone else paying the bills.

 

[oz_mark]

Company policy was for anything over 5 hours you fly business class. :shock: Never eventuated.

When you work for company that only ever looks at bottom line then business travel is way to expensive. They also wanted employees to fly in their own time even if it was public holidays. Soon fixed that by claiming and receiving time offin lieu for all company related travel. No way would I travel to Singapore in cattle class on flight that arrives at 4:00 and be expected to work 10 hours that day. I remember a couple of years back flew to BKK on Easter Sunday worked Easter Monday and flew back Anzac Day. Company thought I was a saint until I requested 3 days of in lieu and actually was granted them as well.

One of my options to get to business class is that if I have to fly more than 4 hours, or fly overnight, and then go to work, I can fly business class. Problem is, the company would rather fly me the day before. Once when I had to go to Canada they decided they should fly me two days before!!

They seem to worry about flight costs, but don't seem to pay so much attention to hotel costs. Even if I stay on for a weekend after going somewhere they seem ok paying the bill.

 

[NM]

Last time I got a phone call at 3am telling me to get on the next flight to XYZ, I used the assumption that such a request must mean business class travel was approved :wink: .

So I told the person who called me at 3am that they needed to get an email approval from the VP who had told him call me at 3am, and that it needed to include his approval for business class travel. His email arrived before 5am and was entitled "Bugg@r the cost, just get him on the d@mn plane". My flight departed 1:55pm and I was in my hotel room by midnight.

 

[oz_mark]

Last time I got a phone call at 3am telling me to get on the next flight to XYZ, I used the assumption that such a request must mean business class travel was approved :wink: .

So I told the person who called me at 3am that they needed to get an email approval from the VP who had told him call me at 3am, and that it needed to include his approval for business class travel. His email arrived before 5am and was entitled "Bugg@r the cost, just get him on the d@mn plane". My flight departed 1:55pm and I was in my hotel room by midnight.

He may say Bugg@r the cost, but in my experience with corporate travel agents, they are pretty fastidious at sticking with the rules the corporate client has given them.

 

[NM]

He may say Bugg@r the cost, but in my experience with corporate travel agents, they are pretty fastidious at sticking with the rules the corporate client has given them.

The rule for our corp travel agents is they they book whatever class has been approved by the necessary level of management. They will not issue the ticket until they see the necessary approval. And for international travel that requires the CEO's approval. He will only approve business class if the paying VP has approved it. So when that statement comes from the paying VP, no problem.

The amazing thing is that following the call at 3am, I had all the necessary approvals (3 levels of management), ticket booked and issued (half e-ticket, half paper ticket) and was checked in before midday. Things can move fast when its the VP who is calling the shots . If it was me wanting to attend a conference, then it would take weeks to get approval - and then it would be WT class (Wing Traveller).

 

[Yada Yada]

I get to choose, so I fly business class for international flights. On domestic flights it varies, as posted here.

- Peter

 

[dajop]

Those who fly Y for international trips - do you belong to Australian owned or internationally owned businesses?

Just curious, as the "cultural" attitude to long haul may be different in different parts of the world (eg in the US ...anywhere outside the US is a long way away....) which is probably a little different to here (... where aside from NZ & holiday destinations , it takes 7 hrs flying to just get the start of the rest of the world, i.e. SIN ...), so long haul is just a fact of life in Australia.

 

[ioki]

in my previous job, the travel condition was all flights fourth and above would be in business within 12 months of the first flight and the cycle reset every 12 months. This is is with an australian company.

present job, all flights are in economy and my fingers are crosses since i heard that the travel policy might change for the better starting next yr. this is an US company who has a presence in sydney.

all flights are paid by the customers as i've always been attached to the professional services group in both companies

 

[Damien]

Our company's policy is fairly straightforward. The default is economy. We can fly business if the trip is more than 7 hours, and we've done more than a certain number of miles in the previous 6 months.

I fly business.

 

[Warks]

Yep domestic is Y (cheaper the better but now exclusively QF again after a foolish dalliance with Vermin - a few cancelled flights and a lot of employee anger later).
Same as dajop said - NZ is Y and over 6 hours is J. My personal feeling (so that a few employees don't waste the travel funds of the rest of the staff) would be that day flights to places like SIN, BKK, HKK and Japan should be done in Y but overnight should be done in J. We have had a few seniors who seem to get themselves invited to meetings all over the world, show up, spend a lot on hotels and boozing in general, give a 10 minute presentation, sleep through the rest of the meeting and bugger off home. The whole thing could have been achieved with a teleconference for a helluva lot less. That sort of extravagance means that lesser lights have to go on bended knee to attend relevant conferences overseas and sometimes have to offer to fly Y to get there!
[end of rant]

 

[QF WP]

Being a director in a family run business and the self appointed Director of travel :wink:, then I can set my own travel policy. Actually, I have to write the travel policy early next year as we restructure and have to put all our internal management policies down in writing...

I generally (and would be happy to approve for anybody else who travels in our company), their choice of airline for flights. If they choose QF, then I fly (and would approve) Super Saver on the outbound sector and Flexi Saver for the return sectors. I'd approve them leaving the night before and staying in a hotel overnight at the destination.