Originally Posted by
invisible
I know at least one case when corporate policy which allowed booking in C over 6h flight time incentives people NOT to book flight in Business by giving $1000-$1500 to employees per booking. If one flies twice a month, that could be $36K add into one's pocket.
This schema actually works in different areas as well. As economists have told us, people do respond to incentives.
Personally I wouldn't downgrade for the sake of $1k, but where I think this system really is flawed is about making sure the people who do, don't justify or make up extra travel just for the sake of earning more money. Even if people don't, it could create a perception in some cases and question the reasons for a trip (even if justified and well intended it may not be clear to those on the outside).
For the similar related reason I also don't like the rationale of people saying they get paid enough to pay for their own upgrades. Even if that is the case, why should I be paying more from my own pocket just because I happen to take on an overseas project (compared to a peer who may just happen to take on a local project)? I already make a lot of sacrifices in my life for work travel, so I think if every trip (i.e. Joining that additional sales pitch, going for a project overseas) resulted in me paying extra, I would start really resenting it.
For me, global consultancy, SH is Y, LH is J (applies at my level, some more junior levels is all Y); this applies to all flights, whether billed to client, business development or training.
We also have clients who only pay Y, but the company then pays the difference. It is my responsibility to make sure I have planned this in my project financials. I think this is the right approach, as individuals shouldn't be punished for working for one client vs the other.
Personally when I fly for personal reasons it is also always J or F in long haul, so I would struggle with anything else at work.
For those who say to take an extra day off to rest to make up for Y in LH, I would struggle finding the time. I often juggle multiple projects in multiple countries, so it's hard enough to figure out where to be when - there simply is no time to add rest days in between, if I did that would impact my client presence and delay projects as a result. So better try get some sleep on an overnight flight in J (which isn't that great either). But my company is flexible, even in J, if I can arrive early it is up to me to do so, no one tracks me or tells me which dates to book.